Dreams Of Today
by schreibfeather
Summary: Sequel to Songs of Yesterday. Haley Potter still has nightmares about that night at the graveyard. But is the nightmare really over? Now more than ever she needs the support of her friends. She really doesn't have time to wonder why a certain Slytherin is back to being a prat again. Or is he really? Fifth Year. fem!Harry. HPxDM, friendship!DMxLL
1. Waking Up From A Nightmare

**1 - Waking Up From A Nightmare**

 _It had started then. Death. Pain. Had snuck their way into her life. Without her noticing any of it. She should have known then, that it was only going to get worse from there. Still. How could she have known? And if she had known, would she have been able to do something? To keep her godfather from-? No. It was too painful thinking about it. About him. Numbness was better. Safer. There was no room for anything else. Not even joy, or happiness. She had to keep everything out. Or else…_

 _She didn't want want to think about what might happen, if she allowed herself to feel. If she let herself remember… she'd only remember what was lost. So she drifted. Drifted away into herself. Into her own pit of emptiness._

…

The first thing Haley noticed was the overwhelming feeling of dread. She looked around. She was sitting on the ground. To her left and right there were grave stones. So many grave stones. A few metres away lay a person. Fearing the worst, Haley scrambled to where the person lay on their stomach. She couldn't see the face. She had to make sure the person was alive. Was okay. Was…

It was too quiet all around. All she could hear was her own frightened heart beat. At last Haley settled down next to the person. With trembling hands she reached for their shoulders, carefully turning them over.

"Cedric," she gasped. There was no doubt it was the Hufflepuff. There was also no doubt, that the boy was dead. There was no life left in his unblinking, empty eyes.

"Cedric! _No!_ Cedric, _please!_ " Haley sobbed desperately. This had to be a nightmare! And there was nothing she wanted more than to wake up. That's when the laughing started. A cold high laugh reverberated over the graveyard turning Haley's blood to ice. She looked around and suddenly the graveyard was filled with people. Cloaked people in masks, who joined in with the laughing.

Haley wanted to block out the noise with her hands but she was too shocked to move.

The laughing became louder and more hysterical by the second. Haley wanted to run but she couldn't leave Cedric here alone with them. And then… he was right in front of her. Voldemort.

His wand aimed straight at her heart. He opened his mouth to speak but Haley couldn't hear a word he said. All she saw was cold, merciless eyes and a cruel smirk. And then… a flash of green light. That's when she found her voice again.

"Haley! Wake up! It's just a nightmare! Haley!"

Someone was screaming. Two people. It took a while for Haley to figure out that she was one of them. The other… she couldn't be sure. Without her glasses she was barely able to discern Ron from his sister. But… she knew that voice. Or more like that whisper.

"Hermione? Is that you?" Haley asked hoarsely. She hated how small her voice sounded. There was an additional weight next to her. Then a hand, squeezing her own quickly.

"I'm here. You were having a nightmare."

 _No really?_ If Haley had been more awake she might have answered in a more sarcastic way but as it was she was simply too tired and still shaken from the nightmare. She nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Do you… want to talk about it?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Haley shook her head. But then she sighed, sitting up against the headboard.

"It's always the same dream," she whispered, her eyes closed. She didn't see much in the darkness and without her glasses anyway. Hermione sat down next to her, silently waiting for more.

"I'm at the graveyard again and there is Cedric and he-" Haley stopped, unable to continue. Hermione squeezed her hand in support.

"He's _dead_ ," Haley continued, almost spitting the last word, "He's _dead_ and then there's Voldemort and he's laughing and the other Death Eaters are all around me and they _won't stop laughing_ and he looks at me and he-" Haley had to stop there. She was breathing fast and there wasn't enough air and the memory of that night was _terrifying_.

"Haley, it's okay, you don't have to tell me-" Hermione looked at her with sympathy, reaching for her other hand as well. There were tears in her eyes.

"He points his wand at my heart and then there's a flash of green light..." Haley shook her head to get rid of the images, "I think I screamed… Then… I woke up."

"Oh, Haley," Hermione gasped, "I'm so sorry."

Haley didn't answer. What was there to say? _It's fine? Don't worry?_ It _wasn't_ fine. That was the problem. Haley wasn't sure if it would ever _be_ fine again. Her heart felt a tiny bit lighter now, though. It was like she didn't have to carry the burden all by herself anymore.

"I just want him to-" Haley took a deep breath, "I just want him to _pay_."

For a moment she stared into the dark gloomily. Then she lay back down, leaving some space next to her. Without a word, Hermione crawled in beside her, facing her friend in the darkness. When Haley was sure it was too dark for anyone to see her, she whispered, "I'm scared."

"Me too," Hermione replied quietly.

There was nothing more to say.

…

Everything looks brighter in the light of day. Haley assumed that was something Mrs Weasley would say. Funnily enough she found that it was true. Everything might not be magically okay but it didn't look as scary anymore. Of course life at 12 Grimmauld Place wasn't exactly rainbows and sunshine to begin with but it was better than being cut off from the magical world completely.

One positive aspect was how often she saw her godfather and that she was able to spend her time with the people she cared about most in the world.

There wasn't much for her to do except for cleaning and attempting to turn the house into something that was sort of inhabitable. Today they were cleaning out the salon on the first floor. It was tedious work that took almost all morning and when it was time for a lunch break everyone was gladly munching on Mrs Weasley's delicious sandwiches. Everyone except for Haley Potter and Sirius Black who were standing in front of a huge tapestry.

"What's that?" Haley asked staring at the tapestry in wonder.

"Family tree," Sirius answered curtly, his eyes focused on the tapestry as well.

"You're not… on here though," she wondered. Her godfather chuckled darkly and pointed to a burned hole on the tapestry.

"I'm right here," chuckle, "My dear mother did this, after I ran away from home. At least that's what Kreacher says." Haley frowned. As good as it was to see Sirius again, she didn't like seeing him like this. All dark and… bitter. With a family like this, she couldn't imagine how horrible it must be to think you have escaped your former home only to be trapped there again as an adult.

When she looked back at the Tree, her eyes landed on a familiar name.

"You're related to the Malfoys?" Haley gasped, her eyes wide.

"All the Pureblood families are related, didn't you know? There's really no other way, if you're determined to – Haley, are you okay?"

"W-What?" She blinked, only now realizing that she was breathing heavily and her hands were clenched to fists.

"It's nothing, I just -" Images flashed before her eyes. Cold grey, eyes. Merciless laughter. Long blond hair behind a black mask.

"At the grave yard," she whispered to the floor, "Malfoy… he was there, too."

"Haley."

Haley didn't remember ever having heard someone say her name like this. Soft. Caring. Reassuring.

"It's okay," Sirius said. And a part of her wanted to say _N_ _o, it's not. It never will be_. But somehow she found she didn't want to argue right this moment. She wanted to let herself be comforted. She was so tired of always having to be the strong one. The Chosen One.

"It's okay," her godfather said again, taking her hand and unclenching it gently.

Haley looked up then, finally, and she wasn't sure if it was the eyes that were alight with something other than bitterness or the soft smile that was a tad mischievous even now, but somehow she found herself in a fierce – and not tearful at all – embrace. She wasn't really a person that ranted, but in this moment, she spilled out all her worries. Starting with the return of Voldemort and seeing Cedric die and ending with how frustrated she had felt all summer when she had been stuck at Privet Drive and nobody had given her any information. It felt good to get all of this off her chest and after a while she felt calm enough to pull away.

"Better now?" Sirius asked, his eyes looked a little red, as well.

"Yeah," Haley answered, using her shirt sleeve to dry off her face. She smiled. It was amazing how much better she actually did feel.

"What's that?" Sirius asked, pointing to her feet.

"Huh?" Haley looked to the ground in confusion. But Sirius had already knelt down to pick whatever he'd spotted up.

"That yours?" He asked, turning a little paper note around in his hand. Haley froze. It was _her_ note. The note that she had received before the Third Task. She had taken to carrying it around in one of her pockets wherever she went. Back at Privet Drive she had finally gotten around to comparing the writing with that other note, she'd received. The one that was signed _D.M._ The _D_ 's had matched. Still, she hadn't stopped carrying it around with her.

Had it been out of habit? Had it been because a small part of her thought, she had survived that night at the graveyard because a tiny piece of paper had asked her not to die? Because a _boy_ had asked her not to die? Maybe it had brought her luck. Maybe it hadn't. Regardless of that, Haley had no idea what she was supposed to answer in that moment. She settled for nodding and holding out her hand. Sirius ignored her hand and started to unfold the note.

"Hey!" Haley exclaimed, reaching for the note but her godfather was holding it out of her reach and reading hastily.

"What's that?" He muttered, frowning, "Did you write that? No… that's not your script. Who'd you get that from?"

"I – It's nothing. I – someone sent it to me before the Third Task," Haley mumbled, watching her feet.

"Someone? Who?" Sirius wanted to know, his brows furrowed together skeptically. Haley bit her lips but didn't say anything.

"Wait a second… it's not from a _boy_ , is it?"

 _Damn it_ , Haley thought, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks. She shook her head.

"Just give it back," she muttered, reaching for the paper that Sirius was still holding out of her reach absently.

"Sirius!"

"You're not old enough to be interested in boys yet!"

"Sirius!"

"When I was your age, me and James did honourable things, like pranking people and tormenting Filch and – Well, I guess James _did_ have a crush on Lily for some time then but… That's totally beside the point!"

Haley raised her eyebrows in an unimpressed way. Sirius stared a her, sternly, crossing his arms to make his point.

"You never did say who you went to the Yule Ball with," he said slowly, "Is the note from that guy? Who was it?"

Haley opened her mouth to answer but somebody else beat her to it.

"Oh, it was that bloke Michael Corner, wasn't it? A bit of a douche if you ask me. You really should have just gone with _me_ instead. I'm sure it would have been fun."

Haley groaned. George Weasley – or was it Fred? – had appeared at her side. He was chewing an apple noisily.

" _You_ ," Haley hissed, glaring at him. From the corner of her eye she looked for the tiny mole on his left ear, that she had learned to use as a way to discern him from his twin brother. Ha. There it was. So she _was_ dealing with George. There was also something indescribably _George_ in his face and the overall feeling he gave off. She elbowed him.

"Hey!" George complained, rubbing his side, "It's not like that was a secret, right?"

Haley sighed. "I guess."

George grinned, biting off a huge piece from his apple.

"Can I have my note back now?" She asked trying to make her voice sound as innocent as possible.

Sirius watched her with squinted eyes.

"You're not going to secretly meet up with guys, right?"

Haley shook her head obediently.

"I don't want to hear about any-"

"I'll make sure she behaves, Sirius," George interrupted him good-naturedly, throwing an arm around Haley's shoulder, who eyed him, disgruntled. Sirius didn't seem to be all that convinced. Then he broke into a barking laugh.

"Fine! I'm counting on you. And _you_ ," he pointed at Haley, "keep out of trouble."

For a moment he looked at her sternly, then he ruffled her hair with one hand and smiled so wide that his eyes crinkled at the corners. It was good to see him smile again. Still, she swatted his hand away from her hair. It really didn't need to be messed up even further.

He placed the note in her hand and walked past her.

"Come along kid, you should have some lunch, as well," he called, turning his head back.

Haley was just about to follow him, when she was reminded of the boy that still had his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, what's that note about?" George looked at her hand, where the note was hidden behind her fingers, curiously. Haley took a deep exasperated breath and closed her eyes tightly.

"Nothing," she offered nonchalantly.

"But-"

"Maybe I should take back those 1000 galleons after all..."

George blanched.

"Did I say something about a note? _No_. You must have imagined that. I didn't ask about anything I wasn't supposed to..." He replied innocently. Haley laughed.

"Come on, if I don't get any sandwiches because of you I think I'll have to kill someone."

As it turned out there was still a vast amount of sandwiches left so everyone got to keep their lifes.

…

"For you." Haley had lost count on how many butterbeers she'd had that night. Yet, someone was handing her another one. It was the night before they were due to return to Hogwarts. The whole population of Grimmauld Place was busy celebrating the fact that Hermione and Ron had been made prefects for Gryffindor. It really hadn't come as a surprise that Hermione had been chosen. Ron was a reasonable choice as well and really, Haley was happy for her two friends if it weren't for… the frustrating feeling of being left out. _Again_. But she'd get over that soon enough. She had to.

"Haley… are you okay?" That question again. Why couldn't everyone just stop asking her that already? Haley turned her head and found herself met with a set of worried brown eyes. Hermione.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked back, taking a gulp from her bottle.

"I – I just thought – maybe you – I mean-"

Haley almost choked on her butterbeer. Hermione Granger? Stumbling over words? This had to be a once in a life time occurrence! Her face that was filled with worry and guilt made Haley feel terrible for sulking a good part of the evening.

"I'm fine. Really," Haley reassured her friend, taking her hand gently, "I couldn't think of any person that deserves wearing this prefect's badge more than you do."

At her words, Hermione smiled so brilliantly that Haley felt even worse, for causing her to doubt herself in the first place. Hermione squeezed her hand excitedly.

"Thank you, Haley. This really means a lot to me. I've been thinking about this so much, you know? I mean, clearly I was expecting Dumbledore to make _you_ a prefect. Everyone was! And you'd deserve it just as much. With everything you've done. I was honestly so shocked when I got the letter. But at the same time I felt so guilty. I'm really excited about this! I mean, _prefect_. That's actually something, right? Who do you think the others will be?"

Ah, that sounded more like her friend. Haley shrugged. Which was fine because Hermione had a habit of answering her own questions unless the other person beat her to it.

"Well, Hanna and Ernie probably for Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw… Padma maybe? And who else is there? Anthony Goldstein.. I doubt it'll be Michael Corner. Sorry, I forgot you were – well anyway Slytherin… you don't think it'll be Malfoy, do you? I'd really hate the thought of that git as a prefect. Think of all the possible ways in which he would abuse his power! There has to be a more sensible choice. What do you know about that Zabini guy? I imagine he'd be..."

Hermione went on about the possible new prefects, not noticing that Haley had stopped listening at the mention of Malfoy.

All summer she had avoided thinking about him and everything else that train of thought might involve. Everyday she had told herself, _Tomorrow._ _I'll deal with that tomorrow._ Until there was no tomorrow left. There really was no avoiding it anymore. Haley would have to see him tomorrow. And before that she had to make up her mind about some things. What did she know?

Number one: Malfoy was a git. Nothing new there. Number two: He was an arrogant, annoying, little ferret. Number three: He used every chance he got to humiliate her and – and… that wasn't right. Last year… at the Yule Ball… he had been acting surprisingly nice toward her. To be fair, Malfoy had also spent a big part of that night annoying the hell out of her… but… he'd also been… really _sweet_.

Haley couldn't believe she'd actually just thought that. Malfoy? Sweet? That was as contradictory as Ron without an appetite! This was exactly why she had been avoiding thinking about this in the first place! Because it inevitably lead her to the uncomfortable question of _why_. Why had he been so nice? Why had he made sure, she got away from Snape without getting scolded or worse? Why had he done that? Why had he – he… kissed her? Did he… was there a chance that he… _liked_ … her?

But that wasn't possible, was it? Haley remembered the note then. The first one. Where he'd asked her to meet up in the kitchens. Haley had waited but Malfoy had never shown up!

That should be proof enough, right? He had been fooling her all along. And then the second note… _Don't die._ He couldn't have written something nice, like _Good luck!_ Or _You can do it!_ It had all been a ploy to unsettle her. Make her ponder over everything uselessly, so that she would fail. So that she would end up dying. Just like Cedric had. Haley suppressed a sob.

"Haley, what's wrong?" Hermione's question pulled her out of her worrying spiral, with brutal force.

"Sorry, what?"

"You've been… staring at the same spot for minutes. I'm not stupid, Haley, I do notice when people stop listening to me." She didn't sound like she was annoyed, more like genuinely worried.

"I just – I'm just… tired. It's all been a little much lately." It helped that she had to yawn for real in that second. She really was tired after all.

"Of course. I understand," Hermione said in an understanding tone, "but… you know… hypothetically speaking, if there was something else on your mind that you wanted to talk about, but you weren't sure who to turn to... you could _always_ tell _me_. You know that, right?"

Hermione really was too observant for her own good. And in that moment there was nothing Haley wanted to do more than to just _tell her_. Everything. But where would she start? What was she supposed to leave out? Should she just blurt it all out like _'You know that guy from Slytherin, who always calls you a mudblood, and gets a kick out of being mean to people? Yeah, that one, well turns out, he can be quite nice if he wants to be. He even kind of kissed me at the Yule Ball. And now I don't know what to make of all of this and if it means something. Or if I even want it to mean something. Because it might as well all be one big prank but maybe it's not. And then there's also the whole thing where his father's a Death Eater, which I, like, saw with my own eyes._ _S_ _o we're technically enemies. But_ _it could be worse_ _, right?'_

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

"Thanks, Hermione. I'll … keep that in mind." Haley whispered with a soft smile.

Hermione sighed, understanding that whatever it was that her friend had on her mind, she wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

"I'm gonna head up to bed," Haley said with a yawn, "See you tomorrow. And congrats on being a prefect again."

"Thank you. I won't be too long either. Good night, Haley."

"Good night," Haley waved, getting up and trying to escape without having anyone question her leaving. It wasn't too difficult. Everyone was busy celebrating.

Haley shook her head in annoyance as she climbed up the stairs tiredly. She didn't understand how they could be so relaxed with everything that was happening. She wanted to forget about her worries, too. She wanted to lie in her bed for once, without having to brace herself for another nightmare. As she was lying there, staring at the black ceiling above, she tried desperately not to think about a blond boy, who she'd see again tomorrow. A boy who might or might not like her. Who she might find a tiny bit likable herself.

"Stop it," Haley whispered to the darkness, "It doesn't matter. He's the son of a Death Eater. He's your enemy. It doesn't matter."

 _Have you forgotten what they'_ _ve_ _d_ _one_ _to Cedric?_ A voice said in her head. Of course she hadn't forgotten about that. How could she? _But_ _ **he**_ _hasn't done it. He wasn't even_ _ **there**_ , said another voice, _He's_ _ **not**_ _a Death Eater._

"It doesn't matter," Haley whispered. There was no voice that answered this time. In her head or other.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello my dear readers :) First of all, thank you for reading! I'm so happy that I can finally present the first chapter of my sequel to you! For now it's still a little angsty but... well that will change soon. And it's not too angsty I think. Hopefully now you understand why the last chapter of SoY was so Cedric-heavy. It was necessary to make the impact his death has on Haley more evident. Next chapter we'll see some more Hogwarts people on the Hogwarts Express. Yay! I might not be able to update often because things around here will get pretty busy soon. I'll still try not to let you guys wait too long though! There will be an update for A little Braver soon. So keep your eyes open for that, if you follow that :)

Have fun and leave me your thoughts, Feather :)


	2. The Road Goes Ever On And On

**2 - The Road** **Goes Ever** **On And On**

 _One little memory couldn't hurt, right? Maybe it would help... if she thought about something harmless. Not too happy not too sad. An ordinary memory of a normal day. That wouldn't harm anyone, right? And after all... she didn't want to actually forget about her godfather. She would have to start thinking about him – about all of this – eventually. Why not start now? Something ordinary... something normal... **something**..._

 _..._

Haley didn't want to say good bye to her godfather. The thought of leaving him behind at the one place he loathed the most (well... aside from Azkaban) simply didn't seem right.  
' _He won't be alone, though_ ,' Hermione had said, when Haley had told her about her worries. Which was true, of course. Still, Haley had a bad feeling about Sirius staying at Grimmauld Place and closing himself off from the world. Therefore she made sure to talk to him before they had to leave for school.

"You'll write, won't you?" She said, watching his eyes searchingly.

"Sure," he muttered, "if you want me to…" He wasn't meeting her eyes and the grin on his face was more than half-hearted. Haley felt a pang in her heart at the sight of it.

"Good. Because I do want you to."

Sirius nodded to the floor.

"At least once a week," Haley insisted. Sirius snorted at that. He still wasn't looking at her, but his grin looked a tiny bit more genuine.

"I'm serious," the girl threatened sternly.

"No, kid, that's me," Sirius said, with a laugh. He looked up at her finally.

"You can't be serious," Haley retorted, grinning madly.

"Oh, stop it with those lame jokes already," her godfather said, still laughing softly.

"Seriously?"

"Haley! I said stop!" He laughed and Haley decided, she'd mocked him enough. Too late, because now he was taking revenge on her by messing up her hair.

"Sirius!" She exclaimed, swatting his hands away.

"That's me," Sirius stated with one raised eyebrow.

"Haley, it's time!" Mrs Weasley called from the hall. That was enough to sober them up.

"Don't forget to write," Haley whispered, taking a step toward her godfather and hugging him around his middle.

"I won't," he whispered back and returned the embrace.

"Now!"

Reluctantly Haley pulled away.

"Well then..." She said, turning around and leaving quietly.

"Keep out of trouble!" Sirius called back. Haley turned just in time to see him raise his hand and giving a little wave.

"No promises," she replied with a grin. Then she waved at him one last time and walked out of the kitchen.

…

A few hours later Haley found herself sitting inside a compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express with Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and a girl called Luna Lovegood. Or was it Loony? She wasn't completely sure. Ginny, who Haley normally got along with fine, was acting strangely. She acted overly cheerful and kept looking to the compartment door. Was she expecting someone? Haley, too, found her eyes straying toward said door unusually often. It made her nervous that she was riding the Hogwarts Express without either Ron or Hermione. That had never happened before! And that was the _only_ reason of course.

"Who are the two of you waiting for?" A dreamy voice asked into the silence. Ginny and Haley both jumped at the same time.

"Ron and Hermione," Ginny stated without hesitating, at the same as Haley said,

"No one! I mean, of course Ron… Hermione." Haley laughed awkwardly, desperately hoping no one had noticed her near-slip-up. For a moment everyone eyed her suspiciously. Then they looked away from her again but Haley could swear she'd seen the Luna girl grin in a knowing way and raise one eyebrow behind the magazine she'd been reading the whole time. What had that been about? Well, anyway, Haley had to try and calm down, if she wanted to survive the ride. She had no reason to feel this anxious, she _was_ after all waiting for Hermione and Ron. Who else? There was no one else for her to wait for. No one. Not even-

"Haley?"

She turned her head to Neville who was sitting on her left side. For a moment she saw concern in his eyes.

"Are you-?" He started to ask, but then his eyes fell onto her lap.

"Merlin, that's Morgana! That one is still missing in my collection. Would… would you trade it?"

Haley grinned. She knew for a fact, that Neville already had plenty of Morganas. But she appreciated the effort he made, instead of asking her whether she was all right. She must have heard that question at least a hundred times already!

"Sure. Why not? I'll trade her with… Agrippa."

"Cool," Neville exclaimed, grinning in return. Haley looked excitedly at her new chocolate frog card. What would Ron say to that? He'd been looking for this one since they'd been tiny little first years! Perhaps it was better to keep this to herself for now. Without wasting another moment she shoved the card into her jeans pocket.

That's when the door opened. Haley and Ginny simultaneously turned to the door in a way that almost seemed like it was choreographed.

"Hi, Haley! Neville!" Parvati Patil's head greeted. She waved cheerily and looked around the compartment curiously. Her head was followed by Lavender Brown's who was waving as well.

"Hey guys," Lavender said, "aren't Ron and Hermione with you?" She frowned.

"Oh, those two are sitting with the other new prefects," Luna informed her.

"Oh." Lavender eyed her confusedly for a second like she had only just noticed the Ravenclaw.

"Right. Well, we just wanted to say hi. See you later, everyone!" Parvati said, waving one more time, before she pulled her friend further along.

"That was Padma's sister." Luna informed them. Then she turned back to her magazine again.

Haley was very tempted to say "Duh!". But she overcame the urge. She was already starting to like Luna. The Ravenclaw was surprisingly… refreshing.

The four were only given a short moment to catch themselves because just a few minutes later the door opened again.

This time though, Haley made an effort not to turn her head in a crazy manner. Instead, she turned her head slowly and with more dignity. For a second her eyes stopped at Ginny's expression of surprise and – was she blushing?

Then finally her eyes landed on the door, where none other than Michael Corner was standing, looking as surprised as she felt. Haley was already prepared for her heart to either stop or start pounding madly. It did neither. All her heart did was stutter slightly, before marching on as if nothing extraordinary had happened. As if it suddenly was okay. And shockingly Haley found that it _was._

"I didn't know – I thought – I shouldn't –" Michael started to say.

Haley chuckled. He was just a _boy_. After all she had gone through lately… She was certain she could deal with a boy.

"Hi Michael," she greeted, waving him over, "Why don't you come in for a moment?"

"Wh-what?" He looked like she had suggested, he jump out of the window or something.

"Come in for a moment." Haley didn't know why it was so important to her. Why she wouldn't just let this go. Maybe it was something she had to prove to herself. That she could hold a normal conversation with him. That this was no big deal. And maybe she was also mildly interested why Ginny was inspecting her fingernails so carefully.

When Haley raised one eyebrow at Michael in a challenging way, he seemed to awake from his stupor.

"S-sure," he said, taking a tentative step inside and then walking more confidently. After a little moment of looking around awkwardly, he sat down across from Haley and Neville, next to Luna.

"You know Luna, of course," Haley said cheerfully, gesturing toward her.

"Yeah, we're – we're in the same house," Michael said to the window. Luna eyed him curiously over her magazine. But she didn't say anything.

"So..." Haley started, clapping her hands together once and successfully turning the attention toward her.

"So..." Michael echoed. Haley bit her lips. This was surprisingly amusing.

"How was your summer, Michael?" The raven-haired girl asked, trying to make her voice sound earnest.

"Oh, well, the usual, I guess. Met up with Anthony and Terry. We're working on this really cool potion at the moment. I told you about that, remember," he grinned, glancing at Ginny for a second. She didn't meet his eyes or anyone else's for that matter.

"Anyway," Michael continued, "everything's kind of messed up, now right? After Cedric… and everything. Nothing will ever be the same..." There was silence for a moment.

"Yeah." Haley said finally. Michael looked up at her then. And what Haley saw there in his face made her realize a few things. He had known Cedric, too. Well, him and Cedric had been rivals but still... Haley imagined he felt even worse because of that. Overall he seemed somewhat lost. A little lost, a little sad.. and also... scared. They were all in the same boat now. Suddenly Haley felt bad for the way she had almost enjoyed his discomfort earlier.

"Look, Michael, I'm-"

For the third time the door was opened and finally, _finally_ Ron and Hermione entered the compartment. It was incredible how enormously relieved Haley felt at the sight of them.

"Man, I'm hungry! I never thought this whole prefect thing would be this – Hermione, why'd you stop walking?"

Hermione had walked halfway into the compartment, effectively blocking Ron's vision.

"Hermione. Hermi-" Ron stopped himself, as he finally caught a glimpse of the person that had made Hermione halt in her steps. It was silent for a few seconds. Then Ron started to shout.

"What the hell is that bloody Raven-"

"Ron!" Ginny, who hadn't said a word since Michael's arrival, was speaking up now.

"Ginny?"

Ron only stared at his sister in wonder, that's how surprised he was at hearing her raised voice.

Ginny glared back defiantly. Nobody dared get between the two siblings.

Finally someone quietly cleared their throat. Everyone looked around, trying to make out the source of the noise.

"I should get back to my compartment now," Michael said, smiling softly at the floor.

For a second Ginny looked, like she wanted to say something, but Michael had already got up from his seat.

"It was… good to see you," he said, meeting Haley's eyes for a second. Then he waved at everyone one last time and hurried out of the door past Ron and Hermione.

"What was _he_ doing here?" Ron wanted to know, as soon as he'd sat down next to Neville.

"I think he wanted to talk to her," Luna mused, putting her magazine down, "But he wasn't comfortable doing that with everyone around."

"What? Who are you?" Ron asked, noticing the Ravenclaw only now.

"Luna," the girl simply stated, pulling up her magazine again.

"W-wait, shouldn't you _return_ the question? _That's_ not polite..."

Hermione snorted. Haley couldn't suppress a snigger herself. Ron? Calling someone out on their lack of politeness? That was... kind of hypocritical. If nothing else.

"I know who you are," Luna said without looking up from her magazine, "You're Ginny's brother."

When Ron looked to his sister for help, she simply shrugged, before chuckling in amusement as well.

With a sour expression on his face Ron looked around the compartment. Nobody would meet his eyes. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. Haley bit her lips, trying to keep from giggling. Her friend was simply too funny when he was annoyed.

Then his eyes fell onto Neville's lap.

"Morgana again?" He asked, "How many does that make now?"

"I – what? What are you-" Neville looked to Haley sheepishly. She shook her head, chuckling,

"It's fine, Neville, I knew you already had that card."

"You did?"

Haley nodded.

"Oh." Neville looked at his fingers, "I guess you caught me," he chuckled.

"Caught him? What does he mean you caught him?" Ron asked.

"It was nothing really, I -"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the golden girl and her Gryffindumb friends."

Haley froze. She hadn't even heard the door opening. Without wanting to, she turned her head, taking as much time as she could before she would have to face him.

Polished leather boots. Shiny, black robes. Hands hidden – probably folded – behind the back. Regal posture. Puffed out chest. Two badges gleaming there on the left side. One green, with a snake, that curled around a sharp _S_. The other more simple – a proud _P_ right in the middle.

The chin was as pointy as ever. Smirk in place. Nose up in the air. Blond – almost white – gelled-back hair. And then the eyes. Glimmering with something – but no. She shivered at the coldness they emanated.

"How does it feel… not being the chosen one for once, Potter?" Draco Malfoy asked cruelly, looking straight into Haley's eyes. It was clear he was talking about the fact that she hadn't been chosen as a prefect.

"Well… I guess that way, I'll have more time for quidditch practice. I'll make sure to kick you off your broomstick like always. Don't worry." Haley met his hard gaze head on.

Malfoy scoffed. "Is that all you got, Potter? _Pathetic_." He said that with such depreciation, that Haley almost looked away. But she knew this game. Had played it countless times before. And more importantly, she knew that it wasn't real. That it was just a mask, that he wore in front of everyone else. She wouldn't let herself back down because of a few cruel words.

She smiled. "Ah, but that's just the thing, Malfoy. I've come to think, that… childish games and petty fighting… that's so lame. I'm ready to leave _pathetic_ things like these in the past now."

Malfoy laughed on a contrived way. "Wait, you're not seriously trying to tell me, you're too _old_ now to have a little friendly fun with an old...acquaintance?"

"I think you must have misunderstood, Malfoy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with friendly fun. But I'm afraid, nothing that involves _you_ could _ever_ deserve to be called either friendly or fun and you see, there are only few instances in which I would mistake a _ferret_ for an acquaintance."

The ferret thing got him every single time. Haley could see it in the way his jaw hardened or the way his gaze seemed to turn several degrees colder.

"Ha ha. You think you're _so_ funny, Potter. You think the whole bloody world kneels at your feet just because you have that atrocious scar on your face. Well, wake up, Potter," he raised an eyebrow scornfully, "You're just an average, little girl with no parents and lots of imagination that people used to feel pity for. And now… now that's over, too."

Haley balled her hands to fists. No matter how much safer he felt behind that mask, there was no need for him to be this relentlessly cruel. She jumped to her feet. There was no way she was going to sit there and let herself be insulted in such a way. Painfully slowly she walked up to him until the distance between their faces was no bigger than the length of her wand. Haley knew what she'd say next would be just as cruel as Malfoy's words had been.

"That's not really what a girl likes to hear."

W-wait. She hadn't meant to say _that_. But that made sense, since she hadn't actually _said_ it. Luna had.

Everyone turned to the girl. And that's when Haley noticed four things. One, Ron and Ginny respectively had drawn their wands and were threateningly pointing them at Malfoy. Two, Hermione had stood from her seat as well, her mouth was hanging open, as if she had been about to say something nasty. Three, Neville was gripping a plant that kind of looked like a cactus and was pointing something thin and sharp at it. And four, maybe the most curious of them all, Malfoy had staggered back in surprise after hearing Luna speak and was silently forming the word _you_ with only his lips.

What the actual hell was going on?

"I – I didn't mean to –" Malfoy stuttered. The Ravenclaw wasn't even looking up from her magazine.

"My mother always said," she continued, "that people who say mean things to others often have a problem with themselves." She looked up at him finally, raising one eyebrow.

"I could be wrong, but… I think that you're one of those people who –"

"I don't have the time to concern myself with such childish theories. I'll see you lot, soon enough," he sneered, "We're leaving."

It was only then that Haley spotted the two bulky figures, without whom Malfoy never went anywhere, waiting outside the compartment.

The Slytherin left their compartment and marched away without a glance back.

It was like waking up from a trance. Haley turned back to the others but remained standing there for a moment, blinking at the window absently. She had the uncomfortable feeling that everyone's eyes were on her.

An unnaturally loud _smack_ made her and everyone else jump out of their daze.

Luna had closed her magazine with more force than was necessary.

"I'm done with this," she muttered putting the magazine away and proceeding to look out of the window. Haley wasn't sure what exactly she meant that she was done with but she didn't bother pondering about it further. She noticed that most of the attention was diverted from her now. Slowly almost cautiously, Haley squeezed herself in next to Hermione, although there was barely any space left. She needed her friend near now. Needed a little comfort. Malfoy's eyes and everything he'd said, had felt too real to her. Had it been real? No, she couldn't let herself even think that.

She needed to believe it had been just the mask. She needed to. Although she wasn't quite sure exactly why it was that important to her. Like she had done so many times before, she found the small paper note inside the pocket of her sweat shirt, that she began to fold to a tight ball. There was a warm hand on top of hers, squeezing gently in quiet support. Haley looked up to see Hermione smiling at her gently.

"Don't let his petty words bother you," she whispered, "He's just… a spoiled, little boy."

And Hermione was right. He _was_ just a boy. Haley had dealt with far worse than that.

She could handle a boy.

Inside her pocket, she stopped crumpling the note angrily. Instead, she let it rest softly in her palm.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello! My dear readers. It's been a while, right? Well, I'll have you know that I'm doing an internship at the moment and it's super time consuming! Some advice: Never do an internship at a theatre if you're not passionate about theatre. And don't do it just before a premiere!  
And yay ! I finished my term paper, so... more time for me :)

What did you think of the chapter? I know, I'm evil because I'm keeping our two main characters apart for so long... But it'll be all the better once they actually get their acts together!  
What do you think Haley will use the chocolate frog card for?

Aaand before I forget, I have to tell you how much it means to read your reviews and to know that you're reading and favouriting this ! Thank you so much! You're truly awesome :)

Title is from the poem "The road goes ever on and on" by Tolkien.  
I recently finished "Trials of Apollo" by Rick Riordan. And it was awesome! Any PJO fans here?

Anyway, I'll see you soon, everyone! Have fun as always  
Feather :)

edit (May,1st,2017): Cedric and Michael are not in the same house! I fixed that.


	3. The Truth Is Hiding In Your Eyes

**3 - The Truth Is Hiding In Your Eyes**

HALEY

He was avoiding her. It was painfully obvious that he was. She gave him a day. Two days. Three. A week. But then it was enough. Originally she had wanted to approach him right after they had all departed the train, but she hadn't been able to make out the blond head in the crowd.

After the third day she sat down and resorted to putting her thoughts in order. Why was this even that important to her? Why was she so set on talking to the git?

 _I just need to make sure._ Make sure what? _Make sure that I wasn't mistaken. That maybe there is a decent person behind that icy demeanor. Maybe we've been wrong all along?_ She also refused to believe that she had misjudged a person so badly. The glimpses she had seen of the Slytherin the last year… She wanted to see more of them. She wanted to make sure that… they weren't wrong about his character. That he wasn't the bad guy because they always made him out as such. She… well… she had trust in people. And she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't give him that tiny benefit of the doubt. So she sought him out. But he avoided her like a snake no matter how hard she tried. And finally after one week she'd had enough. She was just about to ask Fred and George for help when an opportunity presented itself by coincidence.

It was an afternoon like any other on a day that still carried the faint smell of late summer along with it. The leaves had already started to change their colours and it wouldn't be too long until they'd begin to fall.

Haley was walking along the grounds lazily, her mind wandering from one thought to another, when she spotted a lone figure walking a few ways in front of her. What were the odds, that the shock of white blond hair belonged to Malfoy?

Trying to make as little noise as possible, Haley followed the figure, getting closer and closer until there were only about 10 metres separating her from the boy. Once she was absolutely sure that it really was the Slytherin – without either Crabbe or Goyle for once – she drew her wand from her pocket and pointed it at him. If Moody knew she was attacking someone from behind he would certainly be disappointed but Haley really didn't have a choice. And she wasn't going to let him sneak away from her _another_ time.

One hex later and Malfoy was lying on the ground, a laughing mess. She grinned. One point for Haley. She could have walked toward him faster but she took a sick pleasure in seeing the boy rolling around on the ground, being tickled by invisible hands and not being able to do a thing about it.

Once Haley had finally reached the boy that was lying underneath a tall oak tree, she was hit with a strange squeezy feeling in her gut. Never before she'd seen Malfoy laugh like this. Scornful? Yes. Cackling? Definitely. But this? This was different. For a moment she just stood there, watching in wonder. Then she registered, the painful way in which he was holding his stomach and the tears that were starting to roll down his face.

"Finite Incantatem," she murmured, pointing her wand at the boy. The laughter quieted down at once. Getting less intense gradually until it stopped all together, leaving only silence behind.

Malfoy sat up slowly. "Potter," he stated hoarsely, voice raw from laughing, "what do you think you're doing?"

Without thinking about it, Haley extended her hand to him and for a crazy second it seemed like he was going to take it and let her help him up. He seemed to realize what he was doing then, letting his hand fall mid-raise and looking away with a snort.

Haley's hand fell to her side, while Malfoy quickly got to his feet. He didn't look at her. She watched his movements carefully, ready to stop him at the first sign of him making a run for it.

"I'm not letting you run away this time," she informed him.

Malfoy snorted. "I'm already trembling."

Haley didn't feel like wasting her breath on an answer to _that_.

"Fine," Malfoy said, his voice sounding tired, "Say your piece. If it's _that_ important to you."

Now that she finally had his attention, Haley wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to say to him.

She had been too busy with actually making him listen to her.

"Uh – I –" she started, fumbling with the note in her left hand nervously. She looked to the ground, but of course her words weren't hiding there.

When she looked up again, she could swear, there'd been something soft in his eyes. But maybe it had been nothing but a trick of the light because not a second later his face had closed off, betraying nothing but cold hardness.

Haley sighed. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep doing this without going insane.

"I know you didn't mean it," she stated, determination, making her words sound more powerful.

"Didn't mean _what_ , Potter?"

"What you said to me. On the train."

"Ah, that," he mused, "Why are you so sure, I didn't mean it?"

If he thought this was enough to discourage her, he was sourly mistaken.

"You can stop with the pretence now. Nobody's watching." Haley said, not backing down. She didn't understand why he was still keeping up his pointless act. They were alone, weren't they? There was no reason for him to still act that way. Unless… But no. Any second now, he would tell her she'd been right. Maybe he was simply afraid, she was still mad or something.

"You – what? You think _this_ is a pretense? I was only _pretending_ to be cruel to you? Why would I do that?"

"Well, what was I supposed to think after the way you were acting last year?" Haley spat in frustration. This was not at all going the way she had imagined.

Malfoy's shoulders were shaking slightly in silent laughter.

"Someone is a little bit nice to you and you think – Wait, you don't actually think, I _like_ you, do you?"

Haley didn't say anything, she only stared at him in silence. She couldn't believe the git was actually using these words _agains_ _t_ her.

"Do you fancy me, Potter?" He said it in such a cruel and mocking way that Haley felt sick to her stomach. She was clenching her fist so hard, that the note inside it would have been crushed to tiny little pieces, if it had been something other than a piece of paper.

"You're disgusting," she threw the words at him like they were something ugly and despicable.

"You're right," there was no amusement left in his voice or face now. It was devoid of all emotion, icy and unforgiving, like a particularly harsh winter storm.

"And you'd better not forget it a second time," he continued, "You know that I'm on... _that_ side." It was clear what he was referring to. His father was a death eater. They had killed Cedric. She had to fight them. She had to fight _him_. He was the enemy.

Was he really, though? Wasn't this him pushing her away on purpose, because he wanted to... he wanted to... well, what exactly _was_ it that he wanted? The way he stood there under the oak tree, shaded by the leaves above... The expression on his face mostly hidden by the shadows. Who was he? What did she really know about him?

"It's truly a shame what happened to the poor, little Hufflepuff, isn't it?"

Haley did a double-take. Did Malfoy really just say that? Was he actually threatening her? And the way his lips curled into a disgustingly self-satisfied smirk... That was too much. He didn't have the right to talk about Cedric that way. Or at all. If he'd wanted to make her despise him, he'd reached his goal.

Haley shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe I actually thought – I actually thought – I –" She paused, putting her thoughts into order, "You know what? Just forget it."

This had been a waste of her time from the beginning. How could she have been so stupid? What a fool she was. What was she still doing here? Shouldn't she leave already? What was she waiting for? _Nothing._

The note suddenly felt scorchingly hot in her hand. She remembered then, how she'd wanted to thank him. How she'd wanted to tell him, that the note had been bringing her luck.

What a foolish thought. He didn't deserve her gratitude. She kept her eyes firmly to the ground. Then she angrily threw the paper ball into the grass. She didn't need it anymore.

With her head raised high Haley marched back toward the castle. Her throat was aching, her eyes starting to burn but she refused to cry. What use was there in crying? _It's better this way_ , she told herself, _it doesn't matter_. She should have known it would turn out this way. Should have listened to her inner voice. _It doesn't matter_ , she thought, as the sun was setting in front of her.

...

DRACO

It all seemed rather dramatic how the setting sun was illuminating Potter's retreating back. She was always walking away from him. But it was his own fault, wasn't it? And certainly it had been the right thing to do? Draco sank back against the tree that was behind him, suddenly feeling weak. With his eyes shut tightly, he punched the ground in frustration. The pain in his hand wasn't enough to dull the ache he felt in his chest. He'd sworn to himself he wouldn't be that person anymore. That he wouldn't hurt her again.

So after the disastrous encounter on the Hogwarts Express, he'd taken to avoiding the girl. With an actual Ministry represent at Hogwarts it wouldn't be too long until word got around to the ministry or his father. Draco didn't want to imagine what his father would say, if he found out, he was being friendly toward Haley Potter. So, there really had been no other choice but to avoid her. Although it went a long way from what he really wanted to do, whenever he saw her. Back on the train he'd only meant to give her a little hint, for her to stay away and show her that whatever had happened between them last year was in the past. (He tried not to acknowledge the fact that it definitely wasn't in the past for _him_.)

But it was Potter after all and therefore he really should have known she wasn't going to give up so easily. All week she had tried to confront him until she had finally succeeded in catching him off guard today.

And with a _tickling hex_ of all things. That was so _Potter_. If she could avoid violence, she would. Always. The thought made Draco smile softly, despite himself.

She'd really looked lovely today. Seeing her from such a close distance had done things to his heart, that were too dangerous to even think about. Her hair had grown longer. It went a little over her shoulders now, although it was still a wild mess most of the time. But Draco liked that. In fact he had caught himself imagining one too many times what it would feel like to run his hands through the raven locks. Or to spend hours trying to tame them into a decent hairstyle for once. Would they be soft? Would he get his fingers tangled up in them so deeply, that he would have trouble getting them out again? He imagined Potter glaring at him, if he ever got his fingers entangled in her hair.

Those deep green eyes that always looked like they were ready to kill, whenever they were directed at him. Lately she'd more often than not looked at him differently. Like she was trying to figure him out and uncover all the secrets that he kept hidden so carefully.

And during one tiny second she'd almost caught him. When she'd been just about to talk, seemingly too surprised that he was actually _letting_ her talk to form coherent words. If it hadn't been for his long experience with keeping his true feelings under control, he might have accidently smiled at her. It had been quite endearing, seeing her this nervous, with one hand tinkering around with... something.

Right. There had been something in her hand. She'd thrown it into the grass, before leaving. Draco knelt down and started to look around in the grass. With the setting sun it was quickly becoming dark around him but the thing couldn't be far. Then he saw it. It really was nothing special. Just a note. Folded together tightly. He picked it up and began to unfold it eagerly. It wouldn't be cursed, would it?

The words that were glaring up at him like a twisted ironic joke hit him just as hard as a curse would have. _Don't die._

Draco's fingers started to tremble, his eyes lost their focus and he couldn't _breathe_. _He'd_ written this. Every word. Every letter. He still remembered pondering about the wording. Trying out every possible variation of _Good luck,_ and _I know you can do it,_ or _Be careful_. Until he'd finally settled on this rather neutral approach. Already anticipating the possibility of someone else finding the note and tracing it back to him. The memory was fresh in his mind and yet it seemed like it had happened in a different lifetime.

He'd _written_ this. And all this time Potter had been _keeping_ it. Draco's heart was twisting in a painful way. Had she known it had been from him? And if she had, why had she kept it?

At least she must have suspected it, why else would she have thrown it away in that moment?

One thing was certain in any case. She didn't want it anymore. And the message could hardly be any clearer. She was done with him. Although that was exactly what he'd been trying to achieve, he hadn't anticipated the pain that realisation would bring with it. A silent scream was resounding in his head. He crumpled up the note in his fist angrily. It was astounding how much the note now resembled the state of his heart.

...

"You're a bit confusing, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Draco replied, like the dignified person he was. In his defense, his mind had been preoccupied with… other… important… matters. Reluctantly he turned toward the voice that had so impolitely disturbed him.

" _You!_ ", he exclaimed, once he'd spotted the blonde girl, that was currently sitting at _his_ table in the library. He'd ordered Crabbe and Goyle to do a background check on her. She was a fourth-year and her name was Luna Lovegood. People often called her "Loony" because she believed in the existence of all kinds of impossible creatures. Also her father was the producer of _The_ _Quibbler_.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in annoyance. He hadn't even noticed when she'd arrived.

"I'm doing my homework," the offending girl replied innocently.

Draco eyed her disdainfully. "I can see that. I _meant_ what business do you have, sitting at my table?"

The girl looked at him in wonder, making her already huge round eyes appear even bigger.

"I didn't know students could purchase these tables. Don't you think they belong to Hogwarts? But then again, who does Hogwarts belong to? You don't think Dumbledore owns it, do you?"

What the bloody hell was this girl talking about? She was constantly trying to disrupt Draco's focus but he wouldn't let himself be tricked by her!

He cleared his throat importantly, "Well, I don't actually own the table, I guess. But since I'm sitting here, it's my table for the day and since we don't know each other, I thought it quite strange for you to do your homework here. Considering there are plenty of empty seats where you could do so without disturbing people you don't even know."

Loony didn't answer at first. The pitiful girl was obviously on the dense side.

"I like this table. Nobody ever comes here, so I can do my homework in peace, without having people steal my notes or hiding the books I need." The way in which she stated these facts sounded strangely neutral. She wasn't looking for pity or help. It was just the way things were.

Draco wasn't completely heartless. If she was only there to quietly do her homework he had no reason to chase her away. Right? They would be even then. She had helped him that night, when he'd been stuck in the knight's helmet and now he would simply return the favour.

"Fine, you can stay. I was going to leave anyway," he said, closing the book that had been lying on the table in front of him untouched for a while.

"You're done watching her then?" The girl asked, nodding at something to Draco's left.

The question threw him off so bad that he answered without thinking about the words.

"I – I wasn't watching Potter!"

The girl grinned triumphantly. "So you _were_ watching Haley Potter."

"What? - No, I-"

"I never mentioned her name. I was merely referring to _her._ And considering she isn't the only girl sitting at that table, how else would you know who I was talking about?"

Draco gaped. He had let himself be tricked by that brazen little girl. He would _show_ her what it meant to be messing with a Malfoy. He looked away.

"Well, I wasn't looking at her, I was just… lost in thought. And she… happened to sit in my line of sight."

"Oh. Well then," the girl opened a huge book that was lying in front of her and started to read.

Was this all she had to say? Didn't she know who she was talking to? Well, he might as well leave like he'd wanted to. But maybe he could steal a final glance at Potter – who he had not been watching – just to ease his mind. She was wearing her hair over her left shoulder, making her long neck stand out for everyone to see. A lock of hair kept falling into her eyes, which she pulled back behind her ear every few minutes or so. It was really distracting. He had to suppress the urge to walk up to her and take care of the lock himse–

"Lost in thought again?" Someone asked smugly, startling Draco so much, that he almost fell out of his chair. Damn. He didn't like the knowing grin on the blonde girl's face at all.

"I could be mistaken, but to me you look more like someone who has finally found the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. That's what is a bit confusing, though. One day you look at her like that and the next you treat her like she is the most horrible person in the world. Why's that?" She tilted her head to the side curiously.

Draco's brain felt like it was being short-circuited. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be worrying about first. The fact that the Luna girl completely saw through him or that she was totally delusional at the same time.

"Snorkack?" He asked finally, settling on the easiest matter.

"Yeah. It's only a question of time until someone will find it."

"Right..." Draco stated. He was quickly learning that it was safer not to ask. He bit his lip, considering whether he should...

"You know… the thing you said earlier… that _thing_..." Draco found himself stammering. With his hands he gestured to his left, trying to make her understand without actually having to spell it out.

"You mean, that you have a crush on Haley Potter?"

Draco's eyes widened until they were almost as big as the girl's offending blue orbs.

"Are you daft? You can't say something like this so carelessly!"

The girl simply watched him, which was embarrassing because he was sure that he was blushing furiously.

"But yeah… that," he muttered under his breath, "Is it… is it really that obvious?"

Draco was sure he was slowly going insane. How else could it be explained that he was telling his deepest secrets to a stranger? Maybe it was the fact, that considering the girl's reputation it was unlikely anyone would believe her, should she ever tell someone about this. But perhaps it was also because he had carried this secret with him for such a long time that it felt liberating to finally be able to talk to someone about it. Even if it was Loony Lovegood. Said girl seemed to think about her answer for a moment.

"I guess," she began, "you're not as subtle as you think you are," Draco's heart sank, "But it's not like it's blatantly obvious."

"So you're saying," Draco urged in frustration. Why couldn't she speak in certain terms? He had to fight the urge to shake her until the answer tumbled out of her.

"I'm saying that observant people would surely notice it, if they had a reason for being suspicious and would be actively looking for it. I don't think you've been found out though. Not yet. In fact I think Haley Potter is convinced that you actually despise her."

This was a good thing, wasn't it? Then why did his heart feel so heavy all of a sudden?

"I don't want her to think I hate her," he admitted in a small voice.

"Oh, really? Because to me it seemed like that was exactly what you were trying to achieve."

"Well, what choice do I have?" He blurted, his voice too loud, "We're not on the same – Father would – I can't – It's too dangerous. You wouldn't understand." He ended quietly.

"Ah. I guess I wouldn't understand, that you're afraid how your family might react, if they found out about your crush on her. Would they actually disown you? I read something similar in a muggle book once. In the end the boy and the girl died."

Draco looked up at the girl in an irritated way, from where he'd been hiding his face in his hands.

"Is this supposed to make me feel better? Were you actually listening?" He was wasting his time here. It had been a mistake, confiding in Loony Lovegood. He chuckled darkly.

"I know that you-know-who is back and I imagine your family still supports him. But do _you_ , really? What if staying away from Haley wasn't your only choice?"

"What are you talking about?" He snapped. Her words were stirring up something inside him. But he couldn't let himself hope. He couldn't.

"Maybe there is a way for you to see her, that doesn't endanger either of you. My mother always said 'If there is a will, there is a way'."

As much as Draco wanted to he couldn't let himself believe in her words. The disappointment in the end would be too crushing.

"It doesn't matter either way. She doesn't even like me back," he whispered.

"Are you sure about that?" The girl wondered.

"Yes." He said, finality in his voice.

"It can't be helped then," she replied, closing the book in front of her with a resounding clap.

"Still, there's one thing that's certain."

"What's that?"

"She won't be waiting for you to make up your mind forever."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember how disappointed many guys were last year, when she accepted Michael Corner's invitation to the Yule Ball."

Draco's hands clenched at the mention of that prat.

"And although many people see her as a crazy liar at the moment, I'm sure… that will change once everyone finds out, she's been telling the truth, all along. Don't you think?"

Draco didn't answer. He only frowned. The girl shrugged.

"I'll continue this essay in the common room. It's hard to concentrate with you constantly talking to me," she said, getting up and collecting her things.

"I'll see you around, Draco Malfoy," she said with a wave, before walking away.

Draco was too stunned to reply. How dare she treat him like that and then just walk away like she hadn't been totally disrespecting him? He really hoped he wouldn't see her again all too soon. She always left him with unsettling thoughts.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello, my dear readers :) How did you like the big confrontation? Or Draco and Luna's heart-to-heart? Or most importantly what do you think about the POV change? I shouldn't like pining Draco as much as I do... well...  
I promise the drama will be resolved soon!  
Thank you lots and lots for reading :) Reviews and favourites and follows make me happy :)

Also, I'm working on a new fic atm. It's a cross-over between HP and the "Silber"-trilogy by Kerstin Gier. I don't know if that one is available in English but maybe you know her "Ruby-Red"-trilogy? Anyway in my fic there'll be Haley and dreams and... it's an AU where James and Lily are still alive! Cool, huh? I'll still update all of my other stuff of course :)

Title's from "Decode" by Paramore

Have fun and keep reading, Feather :)


	4. A Secret I Can't Tell

A/N: I know that in the book Harry starts his detention already in the first week of the term but here Haley's detention starts in the second week and all of the following events consequently happen one week later as well.

* * *

 **4 – A Secret I Can't Tell**

It was only the second week at Hogwarts and Haley already wanted to leave again. No less than five minutes earlier, she had exited Umbridge's office and she wasn't eager to know just how late it was. Fortunately it was already Thursday which meant there was only one more day of detention left. The bad news was that she was going to miss the quidditch try outs that were scheduled to take place the following day. But what was she supposed to do about that?

A noise disrupted her thoughts violently. Haley turned around only to find… nothing. She hadn't imagined it, had she? _It's probably due to the lack of sleep,_ she thought, _once this whole detention ordeal is over I'll be fine._

There was another noise behind her then and she could swear that there was someone watching her. Furiously she turned around again. But the corridor was empty.

Except for… several suits of armour… Haley eyed them suspiciously. Was it possible that someone was hiding inside one of them? Slowly, cautiously she made her way back to the beginning of the corridor, all the while inspecting each suit of armour carefully. There were only two left. Full of determination, she approached the first. Then she heard the giggling. Wait – what?

Haley stopped in surprise. She could clearly hear a girl giggling somewhere behind her. Quietly, she walked back to the class room, she had passed just now. The door was slightly opened. With baited breath Haley opened the door a little more until she was able to make out a red ponytail and a head of dark hair.

"You're cheating", the girl said, giggling, "It's not my fault you're rubbish at this."

"I'm not cheating, I just..."

"Stop it, that tickles!"

The girl squirmed out of the boy's reach, where he'd been kissing her somewhere near her ear.

Haley couldn't believe her eyes. Wasn't that–

Another noise on the corridor. So quiet that she'd almost missed it. Haley hurriedly turned away from the class room and looked up and down the corridor warily. _**Who**_ _was it that was constantly watching her?_ She ran a hand through her raven locks in frustration.

It was no use. She was too tired for this. She'd go straight up to the common room and try to get at least a few hours of sleep. She had almost reached the end of the corridor, when – _clang –_ a knight's helmet fell to the ground. In a second she had turned around and marched toward the suit of armour in front of which a helmet was lying.

"I've had enough of this! You've been tailing me all week! And it's enough already! I don't need a crazy stalker on top of everything!" Haley thundered at the person that was crouching behind the suit of armour.

"You can't even show me your face? How pathetic and–"

Haley quickly jumped out of the way of the broomstick that had fallen toward her and was now lying exactly where she had been standing only seconds ago.

"What the–?"

The person emerged from behind the suit of armour.

"Ron?"

"Hey, Haley," said her friend Ron, one hand rubbing his neck sheepishly.

"What were you doing behind that thing?"

"Oh, I was just… going for a walk..."

"At night?"

"Well..."

Haley raised her eyebrow sceptically. "What did you need your broomstick for?"

"Oh! That..." Ron wasn't looking at her.

"Well… if you must know, I was practising... I thought – you know… maybe I could… try out for keeper?"

Haley watched him in surprise for a moment. It was such a _normal_ answer.

"I know, I know… it's stupid. And I probably won't get in. I honestly don't know what I was –"

"No," Haley interrupted, shaking her head urgently, "No, it's a great idea! We can go to practise together and everything." She beamed at her friend, which seemed to encourage him.

"Yeah! That'd be awesome! Shame, that you're stuck with Umbridge tomorrow."

"Yeah..." She agreed.

"So… you seem kind of tense. Everything cool?" Ron asked casually.

"Why… do you ask?" She asked carefully, in her mind she still saw the image of the girl with the red ponytail. Had it been Ginny?

"You know, the stuff you said earlier. About someone following you?" Ron inquired, while they began climbing up the stairs to their Tower.

"Ah...that," she said, relieved that she didn't have to make up an excuse, "I can't shake the feeling that someone is following me. Ever since I started detention this week."

"But why would someone be following you?" Ron wondered.

"I don't know… Maybe it's just the lack of sleep or… perhaps I'm slowly going insane," she concluded dramatically. Ron laughed.

"That's all right. You can go and join Loony Lovegood then."

"Her name is Luna, Ron. Why don't you call _me_ 'Loony'. The whole school already thinks I'm a lunatic anyway."

"Well, what can you do?" Ron mused teasingly.

"Hey!" Haley hit her friend playfully, "You are supposed to defend me! Not backstab me."

"I wasn't backstabbing – stop hitting me!"

"Password!"

Without realising it they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady who was guarding their common room.

" _Mimbulus Mimbl_ _e_ _tonia_ ," said Ron, quickly passing through the portrait hole in order to escape Haley's fists.

While she was following him she wondered whether Ginny was back yet. Was she still in that class room? Had it even been her in the first place? Haley wasn't hundred per cent sure but if it had been Ron's sister, was she supposed to tell Ron about it? _No,_ she decided, _that's not my story to tell._ It probably hadn't even been her, right?

"Did you fall asleep or something?" Ron asked.

Haley shook her head. "Just thinking," she offered, "you should try that, too, once in a while."

She grinned at him cheekily.

"Ha ha," Ron pulled a face at her, "Looks like Hermione's gone to bed already. Which means… my homework will have to wait for tomorrow."

Haley's heart sank. Right. Homework.

"Are you sure you can afford that?" An invisible voice asked. Ron and Haley looked around in surprise. A head of curly, hazel hair appeared from behind a huge mountain of wobbly wool hats.

Hermione. She was seated at their favourite spot near the fireplace, two needles happily knitting in the air in front of her.

"I think you should at least finish the Transfiguration assignment. It wasn't too difficult."

Haley and Ron shared a skeptical look. To hear something like that from Hermione wasn't much of a reassurance. It was no use. If they didn't get started now, they would be sitting here all night.

They worked mostly in silence. The only thing that could be heard was the clicking of Hermione's needles and the scratching of their quills. Whenever Ron or Haley couldn't come up with an answer, Hermione would give them a hint that led them in the right direction. Not before rolling her eyes at them though. After what felt like hours they finally set their quills down and pushed their assignments away.

"All done?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Haley said with a yawn, "I'm gonna head to bed now."

Ron nodded, stifling a yawn.

"Actually," Hermione said in a tone, that Haley couldn't quite place, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Haley raised her eyebrows in confusion. What was going on?

"Go ahead," she prompted.

With a wave of her wand, and a whispered spell, Hermione made the needles and the thing she was knitting sink to the table. It was weirdly quiet without the clicking of the needles.

Hermione studied her for a moment before she started to speak. It made her feel uneasy, being watched like that. It was as if Hermione was trying to look right into her head.

"You've been… kind of off lately," Hermione stated, "Is there something that's bothering you?"

Haley froze. Of course Hermione had noticed her odd behaviour. What was she going to say?

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed," she began in a sarcastic tone, "but everything's been really stressful lately." Haley doubted that would be enough to satisfy her friend.

"I think it's more than that though," Hermione persisted, "you seem… restless. Like you're expecting something to… I don't know – attack you?"

Ah, there it was. Next thing she knew, she was going to call her paranoid. Or compare her to Moody.

"And then the thing with Malfoy," Hermione continued.

Wait, what?

"For a whole week you've been following him around and then? You just stopped all together. What did you even want from him in the first place?"

"I-" Haley felt like a trapped animal, "He's plotting something! Don't you think it's weird? Last year he kept irritating me with the constant staring and now? Now he doesn't even acknowledge me at all! Don't you think that's suspicious?"

"So, did you get some answers then?" Her friend asked.

"Well, you know Malfoy… You might as well try to get answers from Snape."

Hermione nodded. "So, you just gave up then?"

Haley shrugged. "I don't know. I guess."

"Hey! Do you think that Malfoy is the one that's been following you?" Ron voiced all of a sudden.

"What do you mean following her?" Hermione inquired.

"I-"

"Well, when I met Haley in the hall earlier she seemed really twitchy and – she said someone was watching her, right Haley? And so I thought, it's possible that it was Malfoy all along." Ron explained.

"So, what do you mean someone is watching you?" Hermione asked in a skeptical voice.

Haley sighed. Couldn't Ron have kept that to himself? Now Hermione probably thought she was completely losing it.

"Uh – it's just," Haley started, rubbing a hand over her face, "Ever since I started detention with Umbridge – or no wait – since the second day of detention it felt like someone was watching me.

As soon as I would leave her office I would feel someone's eyes on me." She shuddered.

Hermione squinted her eyes at Haley. "But why would someone be following you? And why always after your detention with Umbridge? That doesn't make sense."

Haley shrugged. Hermione turned her searching gaze to Ron.

"Why do you think it might be Malfoy?"

Ron raised his eyebrows, seemingly surprised that he was being questioned.

"I don't know, I guess… It's Malfoy." He offered like that explained anything.

Hermione frowned and turned her gaze to her wool and needles on the table.

"Hm," she said in a pondering tone, "do you think he…" She turned to Haley for a second.

"Perhaps…" Hermione started, but she interrupted herself, "Merlin! Do you know how late it is? We should have gone to sleep ages ago!"

And just like that Hermione picked up her needles, and shooed Haley and Ron out of the common room.

Haley sighed in relief. Hermione had been about to say something. Why hadn't she continued? Was it because of Ron? Was she… suspecting anything?

As she climbed up the stairs to the girls dormitories, she decided that she needed to be more careful from now on.

…

Another week of detention with Umbridge. How the hell had that happened? Why had she let Umbridge provoke her again?

It was a seemingly normal Tuesday at lunch. Definitely more quiet than the morning had been when Haley had been on the receiving end of both Angelina Johnson's and Professor McGonnagall's angry outbursts. And on top of that she'd also lost five whole house points! What a morning!

And it was all because of Umbridge! It wasn't as if Haley had asked for another week of detention.

"Are you still not done with that essay?" Hermione asked from the other side of the table.

"I totally forgot about this. I was sure I had finished it along with all the other essays on Sunday," Haley replied around a piece of toast, furiously writing the conclusion to her Herbology essay.

"Done," she sighed, leaning back in her seat and taking a sip from her glass of pumpkin juice.

"Right on time," commented Hermione, "I don't want to be late for Care of Magical Creatures. The teachers are all mentioning useful bits about the OWLs now."

"We wouldn't want you to miss _that_..." Ron murmured quietly.

"I heard that." Hermione hissed. And just like that they started one of their famous bickering competitions. Haley sighed. As she stood from the bench, she saw a red ponytail exit the Great Hall. Ginny. Haley was almost sure, it had been Ron's sister that night inside the class room. With a boy. A dark-haired boy. But it couldn't be… She glanced toward the Ravenclaw table briefly. There he was. Michael Corner, who was drinking from a glass like it was the most normal thing in the world. Which it kind of was. She was being paranoid. With a start Haley realised that she couldn't remember the last time she'd looked for the boy at the Ravenclaw table. Weird. Only last year she'd been watching him on a daily basis.

Funny, how some things changed.

"I know you're on the team now but that doesn't give you an excuse to slack off on school work," Hermione chided.

… And some things never changed, Haley thought to herself, while she watched Ron and Hermione seemingly fight just for the sake of fighting.

"Time for Bowtruckles!" Haley exclaimed cheerfully, as she lead the way out of the Great Hall.

…

She ran back to the castle like she was crazy. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_ , Haley thought, as she arrived in front of the doors that lead to the Great Hall. After entering the hall, she made a beeline for the Gryffindor table.

"Please be there, please be there," she mumbled frantically, her eyes searching for a lone sheet of parchment. Had it vanished along with the cutlery and the remaining food? It was kind of tragic how much effort Haley had put into her Herbology essay. She hadn't even properly eaten for the sake of finishing it. And then… she had gone and gotten herself distracted, leaving the blasted essay forgotten on top of the table. When the bell had rung after Care of Magical Creatures she had made for the castle without wasting another second. If the essay wasn't there she would –

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Haley gasped in relief. She had spotted her essay almost all the way to the end of the table. But nonetheless, there it was.

With quick hands the Gryffindor snatched up the parchment and promptly made her way back toward the Entrance Hall. There were only six minutes left until Herbology was to start.

Haley allowed herself a moment to stop and catch her breath once she'd reached the corridor on the first floor. Then she felt it. Someone was watching her again. She looked up and down the hall but there was nothing!

Before Haley could blink, she was harshly grabbed by the wrist and pulled into an empty class room behind her.

"What the–?" She managed to say, as she found herself pushed up against a wall and face to face with her aggressor.

Sodding Malfoy. Who else?

"Let me go!" Haley hissed. Her arms were pressed to the wall and she was furiously trying to free her wrists from Malfoy's too tight grip.

"You're so stupid!" Malfoy exploded, voice filled with anger. Wait what? What was _he_ angry about?

"How exactly did you manage to get _another_ week of detention with Umbridge? Don't you see that's just what she wants? She wants you to lose your temper. Make you look like an angry, little child that nobody will take seriously. Can't you see? And you're playing right into her game! Is it really this hard to lay low for once? How can a person be this stupid? Seriously!"

Haley snorted. What the hell? Now it was her fault that the ministry was too blind to see that she was obviously telling the truth? She was the one that was constantly treated like a freak and now she was supposed to let herself be called stupid by a Slytherin? No bloody way.

"Excuse me! You've done nothing but insult me and ignore me, since we got back to school. I don't think I'm gonna put up with your mood swings any longer or better yet listen to your ridiculously misplaced words of advice. And now let go of me!"

"You're not listening!" Malfoy insisted hotly, "I – this is not a game, Potter!"

"I _know_ , it's not a game!" Haley shouted back just as fiercely. Nobody knew this better than she did. She watched him coldly, daring him to question her. The Slytherin leaned back a bit, but his stormy grey eyes never strayed from hers.

"Why are you being this foolish then?" He asked in a slightly softer tone.

"I guess by 'being foolish' you mean telling the truth?" Haley chuckled darkly, remembering the lines that were etched into the skin of her right hand. _I must not tell lies._ She clenched her hands angrily.

"What is it to you anyway?" She spat, "Why do you care?"

Malfoy seemed to be thrown off by the sudden question. A number of emotions that went by too fast for Haley to decipher flashed over his face.

"Because I..." He gulped, "When it comes to you – I – I can't – you…you always make me..."

He stopped, finally averting his eyes that held far too much emotion for Haley to handle.

"I..." He released her right hand and ran his left one through his hair in frustration.

"Damn it!" Malfoy exclaimed as he let his hand fall to his side so forcefully that Haley almost flinched.

"Why can't you just..." The Slytherin muttered, raising his left hand slowly until it hovered in front of Haley's face. The way he was _looking_ at her! It frightened Haley how soft and vulnerable he looked in that moment. It was a stark contrast to the way he'd looked at her the last time they'd been this close. Back at the Hogwarts Express… hurling insults at one another…

His face was so close now. And he was leaning even farther into her personal space. Surely he wouldn't–? He wasn't going to–? Haley saw Malfoy's gaze flicker to her lips briefly.

Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest. And he was still leaning closer!

He was going to kiss her. And as soon as Haley realised that, she made a decision. With her right hand she slowly reached into her pocket to retrieve her wand. She wasn't going to let him surprise her this time. She wasn't going to let the git patronise her and then just stand there as he decided it was a good moment to listen to his teenage hormones and kiss her. No matter what her own views on kissing him were. She was a girl with principles. Ha. She'd found her wand. And just as Malfoy had closed his eyes. That's what you call perfect timing. Now she only had to point her wand at the boy in front of her and come up with a fitting hex.

Before she could make up her mind though her wand landed on the ground, rolling slowly out of her reach. Damn. Malfoy had opened his eyes and was holding her now empty hand in a tight grip.

"Did you forget," Malfoy drawled in a mocking way, "that you're not the only Seeker around here?"

"Let go!" Haley yelled, trying to struggle free one last time. She gasped in pain. Malfoy was gripping her hand right where the five words were engraved into her skin.

The Slytherin stepped back and let go of both of her hands immediately. He looked appalled. It couldn't be because he thought he'd hurt her, right?

"I – I'm sorry – I didn't m-mean to–" Malfoy stammered, before stopping when his gaze fell onto Haley's injured hand. At once his eyes hardened.

Quickly Haley hid her hand behind her back. She didn't want him to see it. She didn't want anyone to see it. But… he'd already seen it, hadn't he? His hands were balled to fists and he made a sound that sounded like a mix between a sigh and a … growl?

For a moment it was so quiet that even Malfoy's frantic breathing seemed too loud although he was standing a few steps away from her. She listened as it got calmer and finally he even relaxed his hands. All this time Malfoy had looked to the ground in concentration. Now he looked up at her and what he did next, was something that Haley would never have imagined to witness.

Slowly, with his eyes to the floor Malfoy knelt down where he was standing. He picked up her wand that had fallen to the ground only seconds (or had it been minutes?) before. Then he gracefully got to his feet and took a step toward her.

"Here," he whispered blankly, as he dropped the wand into her coat pocket. The simple gesture seemed so intimate in this moment that it made her breath hitch.

"You should… be careful of her," Malfoy breathed, "Don't underestimate her viciousness."

Haley's eyes widened. But before she could find any words he was already opening the door.

"Are you threatening me?" She called out then.

Malfoy stopped at the threshold, his back toward her. She wasn't sure whether he'd meant for her to see the outline of the tiny smile that had appeared on his face.

"I am asking you a favour," he retorted softly. And without lingering any longer he was gone.

A favour? What was that supposed to mean? Haley stared at the door that had fallen closed behind Malfoy. Her breathing had quickened considerably and she was desperately trying to calm down.

"Who does he think he is?" She whispered to herself once her breathing was somewhat normal again. This was insane! Couldn't the git once and for all decide what he wanted from her? Fighting one another with words she could handle. Being ignored was bearable as well. But if he decided to be a jerk then he should just bloody well stick to his decision. What was she supposed to think when one day he behaved like an utter git only to act like he cared the next?

It was then that she remembered. Herbology! She had to get to the green houses! Anything else would have to wait. She hadn't put in so much effort into an essay that wasn't going to be turned in in the end.

When Haley opened the door and stepped onto the corridor she was met with a… well curious sight.

"Michael, I have to go! I'm already late, shouldn't you be in Potions or something?" Asked Ginny Weasley, her arms loosely wrapped around a dark-haired boy's neck.

The boy kissed her as an answer and without the protection of a darkened room Haley was finally able to recognize him without a doubt. So it had really been him that other night. Michael Corner.

Dating Ginny Weasley? Ginny Weasley who had pulled away from Michael and was now looking straight at Haley. The shock was written all over her face. The red-head stepped back, removing her hands from the boy quickly.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked. But when she didn't answer he turned around to see what it was that had her frozen in place.

"Oh," he said as soon as he'd spotted Haley, "uh… hi..." The Ravenclaw ran a hand through his hair in a bashful way.

This was enough to shake Haley out of her stupor.

"I'm – uh," she started in the most eloquent way, "I – Don't mind me – I–I gotta go."

Before anyone had time to protest she was running down the corridor.

"Haley, wait-" Ginny's voice called after her but it was too late. She was already rushing through the Oak Doors.

...

That night when Haley entered the common room after another session with Umbridge, she hadn't expected anyone to still be up. Yet, here they were, two figures sitting in front of the fireplace. At the sound of the portrait opening, they had looked up so Haley recognized the alert faces of Hermione Granger and… Ginny Weasley.

As she made her way over to them she noticed that they were the only people left in the common room.

"Where's Ron?" Haley asked as soon as she'd reached the girls.

"Went up already," Hermione said around a yawn, "I told him there was some girl stuff we needed to discuss." She grinned wickedly at that. Haley could only imagine how quickly Ron must have left at those words.

"Wait… why would you..." Haley began frowning slightly.

"Why don't you sit down first?" Hermione suggested, cleaning away some red wool from the seat next to her. She kept her eyes firmly on the needles that were floating in front of her.

Ginny, too, was watching the needles instead of Haley. Her eyebrows were knotted together as if she was thinking about something deeply.

"So..." Haley began, disrupting the silence that had spread around them, after she had sat down across from Ginny. The tension that surrounded them was almost tangible.

Hermione cleared her throat and looked over to Ginny expectantly.

"Um… should I just..." She gestured in the vague direction of the dorm rooms.

"No!" Ginny exclaimed looking up for the first time, "It's fine… you can stay."

Her voice was quiet and she was still not looking at Haley.

"Ginny?" Haley asked quietly, hesitantly.

"I didn't mean to!" The redhead burst out, finally meeting her eyes. And it was like the first little drop of rain that was followed by a downpour.

"It all happened so fast and I seriously never thought – I mean I knew you liked him and you even went to the ball with him. But he told me you were – he – at the ball he said you were with someone else and he just seemed kind of down and – we only talked that night. Really nothing more. You have to believe me! I never meant for this to happen! And I know I should have checked with you first. I should have told you – I… I'm really sorry, Haley. You shouldn't have found out like this..."

There were tears glistening in her eyes but she bravely kept her gaze on Haley.

Ginny… had always been exceptionally strong-willed, not to say stubborn and she wasn't someone that easily cried. The tears touched something inside her that made it difficult for Haley to be mad. She may have been only a year older than the girl but she still felt a sense of protectiveness at the sight of the girl that was trying so hard to appear strong. It was a sentiment she could definitely relate to.

Haley stood from her seat and walked over to where Ginny was sitting.

The redhead looked almost panicked at the sight, did she think she was going to slap her?

Luckily the armchair was wide enough to fit two people comfortably, so when Haley sat down next to Ginny she didn't have to actually sit on her lap. From up close it was even more evident how guilty she felt.

"Haley, I -" Ginny began, but she was interrupted by the two arms that were encircling her.

"I'm not mad at you," Haley whispered, surprising not only the redheaded girl but also herself.

"I mean – I _am_ disappointed, you didn't tell me. It's freaking September!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how, I – I–" Ginny half-sobbed, burying her face in Haley's shoulder.

"It's okay to cry you know," Haley said softly, which only seemed to make her cry harder.

Haley shared a panicked look with Hermione. What was she supposed to do now? Her friend made a gesture as if she was stroking something and Haley started to stroke the girl's long red hair tentatively. It seemed to calm her somewhat. When it seemed that she had cried enough Ginny pulled away from her, brushing away the last few tears with her sleeve.

"So… you're really okay with this?" Ginny asked hopefulness evident in her voice.

"Sure," Haley replied with a grin. She did feel a little sour about the fact that Michael's obsession with Cho Chang suddenly wasn't important anymore when it came to Ginny but… in the great picture it was mostly her pride that had got injured instead of any lingering romantic feelings.

"It's not like we actually dated or anything," she said off-handedly, "Still, what he said about me at the ball… don't you think you believed him a bit too readily? He was talking behind my back and you just stood there and nodded? I mean, I know that he's really cute and everything but do the last four years mean nothing to you?" At first Haley had only meant to tease her a bit but there was definitely some truth to her words.

Ginny had the decency to look at least a bit ashamed.

"You're right," she agreed in a small voice, "I was just a little overwhelmed and… it won't happen again?"

"Fine. I'll let you off, this time. But don't think I'll be this forgiving the next time," Haley said, wagging her pointer finger at the girl in a chiding way. Ginny nodded sheepishly.

"See, I told you she would understand," Hermione chimed in, re-announcing her presence.

"I'm actually surprised _you're_ so okay with this. You used to give _me_ a hard time whenever I so much as mentioned his name."

"Yeah, well, that was different," was all Hermione answered to that before she returned her attention to her needles.

"How is that different?" Haley huffed in annoyance.

"So, are you planning to tell Ron?" Hermione asked, effectively changing the topic and making Ginny blanch in shock. Haley felt more than a little disgruntled by the fact that her question was dismissed so easily. But she was sure Hermione had her reasons. She'd simply have to ask her again what she'd meant when it was just the two of them. So as the two girls proceeded to discuss the issue of telling Ron or simply leaving him out entirely, Haley was left to take a moment to reflect on how she felt about it all.

The gentle clicking of the needles served as a comforting background noise. It was strange how little this bothered her. Even remembering the image of Ginny and Michael kissing wasn't enough to stir up the slightest feeling of sadness or envy or… hurt.

The fire was dying down as Haley tried to picture herself in Ginny's place. Kissing Michael.

Nothing. Without her permission the colour of the boy's hair in her imagination changed from dark brown to white blond. It should have been a telling sign how her treacherous heart stopped for a second as she imagined herself in the arms of the boy that had come so close to actually kissing her this afternoon. But she couldn't allow herself to listen to it. Or to lose herself in such a ridiculous fantasy. What she did let herself remember however was the way he had looked at her before he had started to lean in closer. For a tiny moment his eyes had held so much emotion…

And although Haley didn't have a clue what kind of emotion it had been there was one thing she knew for sure. It had been a sight she wouldn't be able to forget for a long time.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone ! Thank you for reading. I hope you still enjoy this story :) Thank you so much for leaving me reviews and favouriting :) At last we're getting somewhere aren't we? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter! The sun is shining today so I'm in a really good mood :)  
For those of you who love Luna as much as I do I'd like to recommend my all time favourite Luna/Harry fic. It's called "Soulmates" by Lily Ophelia and it's so, so beautiful! I love how Luna's character is treated in that story. Go read it!

Title's from "I've got a secret" by Kate Nash.

Have fun and keep reading, Feather


	5. A Hopeless Case?

**5 – A Hopeless Case?  
**

 _(3rd week of September - Wednesday)_

DRACO

She was sitting at his table again. The nerve of that girl! Well, he wasn't going to let some little girl steal his table. Draco squared his shoulders and took a seat at his favourite table in the library, not bothering with greetings. He certainly wasn't going to make his presence known first. The girl could do that.

"Did you come to get lost in your thoughts again? Or are you actually going to work today?"

Draco crushed his teeth together angrily. Nobody was allowed to talk to him like that! He was going to ignore the girl. Right. That was the best idea. But would she actually leave him alone if he signaled that he didn't want to talk? He should have brought a book. He'd definitely bring a book next time. This was a library after all! Or sit somewhere else? But no, this was _his_ table! _She_ could go sit somewhere else!

"So, did you make up your mind?" Lovegood inquired.

"About what?" Draco asked, before mentally slapping himself. Damn it, he had acknowledged her. Now she probably thought he _wanted_ to talk.

"Well," she mused, playing with her necklace – wait were those Butterbeer caps? "about your thing for Haley Potter."

Draco looked around in alarm. Had someone heard her? He felt the urge to shush the Ravenclaw but he was sure she would just ignore it. She tended to always say what she wanted to anyway.

He settled for glaring. "Could you try to keep your voice down? I'd rather not have people find out about this matter by accident."

"Sure thing," Lovegood said cheerfully, "so should we use a secret name or something?"

Draco didn't think he was expected to answer that.

"Don't worry," the girl said, "I'll come up with a good one!"

"I'm sure you will," Draco muttered darkly. Was it possible to get used to her antics? He really hoped he wouldn't have to find out. He also wished she wouldn't always stare at him with her big marble-like eyes. It was unnerving.

"If you ask me," – _Who exactly asked you? –_ "there are really only two options. Well – three, if you consider melodramatic pining an option. But who would do that?"

 _Me_ , Draco, thought defiantly, _and it's not melodramatic but – but – totally dignified and – and selfless._

"Oh. I know that look," Lovegood said with her head tilted to one side in a thoughtful manner, "You're considering your pining as honourable and selfless, aren't you?"

"Good point. I forgot about the honourable part," Draco agreed, before actually registering her words. "Wait – how did you know? Do you know Legilimency?" It was a truly horrifying thought. But she wouldn't, right? She was only a fourth year…

"Like the _Wampus cats?_ I had a dream about a _Wampus cat_ once. It told me to come and find it. But dad was against it because I was still so young. They live aaaaall the way in North America you know?" She informed him, drawing out the _a_.

"Right." It was best to leave it at that.

"Like I said, two options," the girl continued, as if she hadn't just completely went off-topic, "You can either forget about your lion, move on with your predetermined path and forever regret that you didn't even try; or you could," she made a dramatic pause there, like she was about to present him with the most clever solution in the world, "take a chance and then… who knows? It might work out, it might not. But at least you'll have one less regret."

She watched him expectantly. It seemed almost like she wanted to hear his decision right this moment! What even was he supposed to say? It wasn't like she had told him something new. He had come up with similar thoughts himself after all the time he'd been spending thinking about his situation. Wondering if it was even all worth it. Was his family worth making himself unhappy over? Was his infatuation with Potter important enough to risk ruining his relationship with his family?

And if he did take a chance, would it even matter? What if Potter didn't… if she didn't return his feelings? And what if she _did_? Draco buried his face in his hands in frustration.

He'd never find out if he gave up now.

"Oh, it's Haley! Should I wave her over?" Lovegood suggested.

"What? Where? No, stop it! Are you crazy?" Draco looked up in time to see the Ravenclaw's hand sink to the table. There was a slightly disappointed frown on her face.

"Fine, I won't," she conceded, "but don't call me crazy."

Draco felt bad. It looked like he had really hurt her feelings. _So what?_ , a voice in his head said, _It's not like this is the first time you hurt someone's feelings. It's fun, isn't it?_ But for some reason it didn't feel as satisfying as it used to. Being mean and all that.

What was wrong with him? Was he going soft? Did he actually care about the fourth year? Draco decided it didn't matter either way. He had heard people calling the girl _Loony_ behind her back. And, well… she _was_ kind of loony but she was also sort of his ally. She knew his biggest secret. So he'd make an exception. For now.

"I won't," he said simply. The girl nodded. Then she looked at something to her right.

Draco followed her gaze and well… he wouldn't say his heart stopped but… it kind of did exactly that. And something was definitely fluttering inside his stomach.

How was it possible to feel this much just because of a stupid Gryffindor? But it wasn't just any normal Gryffindor that was leaning against a shelf a few rows away from them. It was _Haley_ _Potter_ and she was leafing through a book absently. And her glasses were sitting low, almost on the tip of her nose. And she was wearing her hair in a ponytail, making her whole face visible. It was like a silent invitation for people to take a look at her. But what was that? A lock had gotten loose from her ponytail and now… now it was just _hanging_ there, _taunting_ him. Wasn't she going to tuck it back behind her ear?

"Where are you going?" Lovegood asked all of a sudden.

"Where am I go-?" Draco blinked. Why was he standing? He didn't remember getting up!

Lovegood was raising her eyebrows at him in amusement. This was so embarrassing!

"I was just – ah, that's the book I was looking for!" He exclaimed, reaching for a random book in front of him to cover up his state of… what was it? Delirium? Craziness? Temporary loss of sanity?

Without meeting the Ravenclaw's eyes he sat back down slowly. What was he supposed to do? Maybe it was too late to turn back… Maybe he was already too far gone… He didn't know. He simply didn't know what he was supposed to do.

"Do you," Draco whispered slowly, "do you think it's too late?"

Luna waited quietly, while he proceeded to sort out his thoughts. It had only been yesterday when he'd last talked to Potter. Inside that empty class room. He had wanted to stay away from her but wasn't this a sign, that he couldn't? Even if he tried not to get involved with her, he always found himself in front of the raven-haired girl again.

"I don't know… how much longer I can take this. Always watching and wondering from the distance," Draco admitted, "Do you think… is there a chance that it could actually end well?"

He heard the hopefulness in his own voice. Damn, now he had allowed himself to actually _hope_.

Luna frowned at him. "I can't actually see the future, you know? But maybe we could ask Professor Trelawney!"

With a _thump_ , Draco's head fell onto the table. He groaned. What had he done to deserve such an unreliable ally?

…

HALEY

After Care of Magical Creatures on Thursday Haley had decided to stay behind and try to get some information about Hagrid's whereabouts from Professor Grubbly-Plank. But to her disappointment Grubbly-Plank had been of no help in that department. Instead she had instructed her to put away the tables they had needed for their Bowtruckle sketches.

She was standing in front of the tables, wondering which spell was the best to get the work done in the quickest way.

"Do you need help?" A voice asked from somewhere behind her. Haley turned just in time to see a tall figure emerge from behind a tree. This was unexpected. What was he doing here?

DRACO

Potter had stayed behind after Magical Creatures. Again. After everyone else had left, she had asked Grubbly-Plank when that oaf Hagrid would be back. Draco wondered what was so great about the guy. Well, aside from his size. Ha ha.

From his spot behind a tall tree it was hard to understand exactly what they were saying but from the looks of it Potter didn't find out anything new. Instead she was left to clean away the tables. Draco almost snickered. It was kind of amusing. You could almost see the wheels turning in her head, as she tried to figure out how to go about putting away the tables. Maybe he should go and help? Or was that a bad idea? She probably wouldn't let him help. And what would he say if she asked him why he was bothering in the first place?

"Do you need help?"

Draco froze. There was another person near them. Who was it? Somewhere to his left, Draco saw a boy approaching. Had he been hiding behind a tree as well? He was walking toward Potter now.

It was a Hufflepuff from their year. That muggleborn that had been petrified in their second year. They were talking but he couldn't hear the words clearly. Potter was laughing about something.

It was a lovely sight. But she wasn't supposed to laugh with that stupid Hufflepuff! She wasn't supposed to laugh in front of any guy that wasn't _him_!

 _It's not like she'd ever laughed like that around you in the first place_ , Draco thought.

He kicked the tree in front of him angrily. The pain made him hiss. This was stupid.

Potter looked in his direction for a second. He quickly hid his face behind the tree again. Had she heard him? Damn, if she came over now…

But the Hufflepuff was stopping her. And with a hand on her wrist at that!

Draco felt like kicking the tree again. Or punching it. Or burning the whole blasted forest down. But then he'd probably die. Together with Potter and the sodding Hufflepuff. Who wanted that? If he had to die together with Potter he didn't want any old muggleborn present as well. People didn't call him melodramatic for nothing. He wouldn't burn down the forest today. Instead he settled for closing his eyes and trying to calm down.

Huh? He had opened his eyes again and it seemed that had been enough time to make the tables disappear. Potter and the Hufflepuff were making their way back toward the castle it seemed.

It was easier to understand the words they were saying now.

"Thank you, Justin," Potter said, in a voice that was way too sweet for the occasion. _Come on, Potter!_ , Draco thought furiously, _That guy is a_ Hufflepuff _! And his parents are_ muggles _! There's no need to thank him for helping you get rid of a few tables!_

"It was no problem," the Hufflepuff replied. _Well, duh! She could have done that by herself, you idiot!_

"Oh," the Hufflepuff had stopped walking all of a sudden. Potter had stopped as well.

The git was reaching for Potter's face. What was he doing? Draco was so afraid, he'd miss something, that he didn't bother properly hiding behind the tree anymore. If one of the two glanced in his direction, they would spot him at once. But he didn't care about that.

The Hufflepuff was pulling a leaf out of Potter's hair.

"Here, there was a leaf in your hair," he said, with a chuckle. _Captain Obvious, are we?_ , Draco thought spitefully.

"Oh, um… thanks, I guess," Potter whispered. _Don't thank him!,_ Draco wanted to yell.

"So… why did you help me in the first place?" She asked. That was something Draco wanted to know as well.

"I um… actually I…" stammered the idiot, "I… I really like you."

What. Was Draco going crazy? Was the Hufflepuff insane? Why did the world hate him so much?

The Hufflepuff put his hand on Potter's arm and looked right into her eyes, that were impossible green and impossibly wide.

"I've liked you since second year actually… You know, after I found out you weren't the Heir of Slytherin," the git chuckled, "I felt really bad about that for a long time… All the mean stuff I said behind your back… well…"

Potter finally showed a reaction at that. Her eyes weren't as wide anymore and she shook her head slowly. Was that a rejection?

"But you already apologised for that."

"I guess… Still... I wanted to make sure you knew that I'm really sorry about that."

"It's fine, Justin. Really," Potter reassured him. She even smiled at the stupid boy.

She had never smiled at Draco like that. They were looking at each other for a moment that felt like it lasted for hours.

"So…" The Hufflepuff said. Well, words weren't really his forte it seemed.

"So…" Potter echoed. Could this conversation get any more awkward?

The Hufflepuff cleared his throat. "Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

Oh no, he did not just do that!

"I…" Potter started to answer but the stupid Hufflepuff interrupted her,

"Look, you don't have to answer now. Just… think about it, okay?"

Potter looked like she wanted to protest. It wasn't the first time that Draco wished he knew what the girl was thinking. Then again, perhaps it was better that he didn't know.

"Okay," Potter whispered and made Draco's heart sink like a stone that was trying to reach the bottom of the Great Lake. "I'll think about it," she added.

Wait… That meant, she hadn't said _yes_. Yet. But she hadn't said _no_ either.

"That's enough for me," the boy answered. Helga Hufflepuff would be proud.

They had another moment where they both smiled at each other awkwardly. The moment was definitely awkward. Draco refused to believe anything else!

"Should we get back to the castle?" The Hufflepuff asked. Potter nodded and just like that they made their way back over the school grounds without a care for the boy that felt like someone had just pulled the rug out from under him. There was nothing for Draco to do but watch Potter leave. Again. He was sick of always watching. How was this fair? How was he supposed to just stand there and watch as a mere Hufflepuff went and did the exact thing he had been wanting to do for a year? He had told her he liked her. Just like that. He had ask her on a date. _Just like that_. Just like… Damn it all!

He punched the tree angrily, not even registering the way his skin broke due to the impact.

Draco sunk against the tree in frustration. What would they be talking about now? Would Potter accept the Hufflepuff's invitation? He remembered something Lovegood had told him not too long ago.

" _She won't be waiting for you to make up your mind forever."_

" _I remember how disappointed many guys were last year, when she accepted Michael Corners' invitation to the Yule Ball."_

It almost looked like she had been right. It was too late…

 _But he is a_ Hufflepuff _, he doesn't deserve her_ , Draco thought. _Do you deserve her then?_ , a treacherous voice whispered in his head. Half a year ago Draco wouldn't have hesitated to answer that question with a haughty _yes_. Now, he wasn't so sure about that. And that scared him.

"I'm not going to lose against a Hufflepuff," he whispered defiantly.

Could he really be someone that deserved to be with the girl who lived?

 _I am a Malfoy_ , he thought, _and Malfoy's never back down from a challenge_. Draco made a decision and he didn't plan on giving up before he'd reached his goal.

HALEY

For a tiny moment she had thought it had been Malfoy who was offering to help her. But it hadn't been him. Of course not. It had been Justin Finch-Fletchley. A Hufflepuff in her year. And she really had no reason at all to be disappointed at the sight of him. He had helped her clear away the tables with a simple Bannishing charm. She had laughed then because it had been such an obvious charm but sometimes even the most talented magicians thought in a too complicated manner.

And then she had heard a noise. But Justin had reassured her that it had probably just been a Bowtruckle or a Kneazle or something equally harmless.

And then… he had confessed that he liked her out of the blue. Haley had been stunned into silence.

He had even asked her on a date! And what had she done? She had said she'd think about it!

Now the poor boy was left to hope for a thing that was probably never going to happen. _Why are you so sure about that?_ , asked a voice in her head as she watched Justin's profile pensively.

They were on their way back to the castle. Justin was talking about something or another but Haley was too lost in her own thoughts to properly listen to him.

Well, for one she didn't like him that way. _Not yet_ , the voice replied.

And aside from that… Haley didn't know why the thought of Malfoy crossed her mind just then.

He was nothing more to her than a nuisance. Why was she thinking of him in that moment? She couldn't possibly still be holding on to the memory of that night at the Yule Ball? It was time to close that chapter of her life once and for all. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Justin was nice. He seemed to genuinely like her and he wasn't too bad on the eyes.

Wasn't that enough? As she looked at him once more, he caught her gaze and smiled gently.

It didn't make her heart pound faster or make her feel butterflies in her stomach.

But maybe it was okay that way. She certainly had enough drama in her life already.

When Haley returned the smile she tried to ignore the feeling of unease that was spreading all over her stomach.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello my dear readers! Decisions are being made. How exciting! And there's Luna :) I wonder which name she's gonna come up with. I know this is kind of filler BUT in the next chapter the real stuff is going to go down! And there will be some major plot development! Cool huh? I mean look at Draco, he's in fighting mode now :D  
Thank you so much for reading and as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this :)  
If you're curious how Draco and Luna first met, you should check out my sidefic "Knight in A Shining Helmet".

And I'm also really excited to announce I'll start posting my new AU Haley/Draco fic soon. It'll be called "Walking on Dreams" and it will have a lot to do with dreaming and basically Haley will take revenge on Draco because he is such a bully. It's fun! And it's an AU where James and Lily are alive. And Haley will also have a cute little sibling (cameo from one of Rainbow Rowell's novels). So check that out if you want to. And once it's posted.

Oh, right , title's inspired from "Sonsick" by San Fermin. An awesome song!

Have fun and keep reading, Feather :)


	6. Midnight Confessions

**6 – Midnight Confessions**

 _(3rd week of September - Friday)_

HALEY

 _She is evil. She is pure evil_ , Haley thought, after she had finally completed the last evening of detention on Friday night. Would the wound on her right hand ever completely heal again? Her skin was burning like crazy. And as if that wasn't enough, she was practically asleep on her feet. Her nights with Umbridge had forced her to try and finish all of her homework until late into the night. She didn't remember the last night she'd slept more than four hours.

With drooping eyes Haley trudged down the hall. Was that a bench to her right? She didn't know if she'd be able to make it all the way up to the tower. But after a little break… she'd surely be able to go on.

As soon as Haley had sunken to the bench, her eyes closed. _Just a moment_ , she thought, _just a little moment,_ _just a little…_

Haley blinked. Where was she? How late was it? Why was her hand so cold?

Wait. It wasn't only cold but also wet. She looked down at her hand in confusion. Her hand was floating inside a bowl that was filled with a thick, yellowish liquid. And most importantly… her skin had stopped burning! It had to be because of the liquid! Hermione must have come and brought it. She'd have to thank her.

"Thanks Hermi-" Haley started to say as she turned around to see if her friend was still around somewhere. But Hermione was nowhere to be found.

Instead she was faced with a boy in Slytherin green robes. Her dearest enemy was sitting on the bench beside her. She wasn't even surprised anymore.

"You again?" She asked in a quiet voice. She was way too tired to deal with him.

For a second, he simply looked at her, a calm expression on his face.

"Are you feeling better?" Malfoy asked just as quietly. Haley frowned.

"Your hand..." He clarified, with a gesture of his own hand.

Oh. Her hand… Her… _hand_? With all the force she could muster up Haley pulled her right hand out of the bowl it had been resting in.

" _You_ did this?" She inquired in alarm. Had the liquid actually worsened her wound?

Malfoy reached around her to keep the bowl from spilling over.

"Careful," the boy admonished, "I spent _hours_ brewing this!" He glared at her. His face was only inches away from hers. Then it was gone.

"I didn't poison it," he said, looking down at his hands, "anyway, your hand should definitely feel better now." He paused, frowning slightly, "It contains Murtlap tentacles. They are often used in healing potions. Not that _you_ would know," He added the last sentence in a slightly mocking tone.

Haley clenched her teeth. How dare he insult her in such a situation? Well… it _was_ true that potions wasn't her strongest subject but still…

"Just for the record, I _did_ know that." She said defiantly, reaching for the bowl with her left hand and holding it up to her face for inspection.

"Like I thought," she declared in a thoughtful tone, "Murtlap Essence. Let me guess, you made this from strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles?" She didn't wait for an answer. The liquid indeed looked like the one Hermione had made for her the other day.

"Hm… I guess, I can use this then." In her mind she thanked Hermione for the small bits of knowledge she always shared with whoever was there to listen. Admittedly most of the time it was more than a tad annoying but at times such as now it proved very helpful.

Haley set the bowl down at her side again and carefully let her hand soak up the liquid.

She tried not to sigh at the soothing effect it had on her burning hand.

It was hard to ignore the smug grin on Malfoy's face. Arrogant git. Why was he even doing all this?

"Stop it!" She snapped, once she couldn't ignore his presence anymore.

"Stop what?" Malfoy drawled in an amused tone. Haley turned to face him. Why did he have to be so irritating? And confusing? And attractive? No – that wasn't right! She quickly shook her head to get rid of that particular thought. It was important to keep her thoughts strictly rational! But that was easier said than done, especially with the boy right in front of her. His head was cupped in his hands with his elbows resting on top of his knees. And he was smiling… like he was exactly where he wanted to be in this moment. She simply couldn't make sense of him. Haley took a deep breath. _Focus_ , she told herself. She looked away from him. It was easier to focus that way.

"Stop being like this," she murmured, "Stop being nice to me. Don't act like you care when you're going to treat me like the dirt underneath your shoes just a second later! Stop confusing me! Stop toying around with me like this!" Her voice had gradually started to get louder. All of a sudden she felt so angry. It was like all the build up frustration and confusion from the last weeks was finally coming to a peak.

"If you're going to hate me, fine! Do it! But I can't deal with this any longer! This – this – I don't even know – whatever the hell this is!" Malfoy was just sitting there, quietly taking in her words. Why wasn't he saying anything? Why wasn't he defending himself? Why was he just sitting there?

Haley hurled the bowl away from her. It rolled around on the floor for a few seconds, spilling its content everywhere. She didn't wait for it to stop rolling before she continued her speech.

"Why won't you say anything?" She asked, facing him now, "What do you want from me, for Merlin's sake! I just don't _get_ it. I don't get _you_!" She said in frustration using her hands to express her exasperation. She breathed heavily. Malfoy still said nothing.

Then her voice turned a bit calmer, a bit softer, until it was nothing more than a whisper,

"I don't understand why this is getting to me so much… It shouldn't… It shouldn't matter at all."

Haley turned away from him again. She would just leave. Why had she let her emotions get away with her? She shouldn't have tossed the bowl of Murtlap Essence. Her hand was burning up again.

But she couldn't let her discomfort show. Malfoy was watching her. She could feel his eyes on her.

The Slytherin was getting up now. _Fine, leave_ , Haley thought, _and don't bother me again!_

But he wasn't leaving. Instead he was walking toward the bowl, that was lying in the middle of the hall. With his back to her, he knelt down in front of it and took something out of his robe pocket.

Once he was finished with whatever he'd been doing, he carefully walked back over to where she was sitting. 'What are you doing?' Haley wanted to ask but seeing what Malfoy was doing silenced the words in her throat. He was kneeling down in front of her, reminding her of that time in the class room earlier this week. He'd knelt down then, too, picking up her wand for her. What he was doing now, was even more shocking.

In his right hand he was holding a handkerchief that was soaked with the yellowish liquid.

With his left hand he reached for her right one and gently wrapped the handkerchief around her injury. Even after he was done he didn't let go of her hand. It felt so much better now.

How easy would it be to just give in. To just surrender to whatever it was Malfoy was planning for her. But it didn't feel right to do that just yet. Still, it wouldn't hurt to let her hand rest there for a little while. Malfoy's fingers were stroking over it with such care. Why though? Why…?

"I..." Malfoy started to say after some time, "I... probably owe you… an apology." He chuckled, never looking away from Haley's hand.

"It feels like… I'm always apologizing to you…"

Haley raised her eyebrows. "Are you kidding me? I remember _one_ apology."

"Oh really?" He asked, sounding genuinely surprised, "Well… I must have done it in my mind then."

Haley snorted at that. Was this boy for real?

"An apology doesn't really mean much if you're going to do the same thing all over again."

"I wasn't planning to-"

"Did you already forget the incident on the train? Or when you were being an insensitive prat only one week later?" Haley interrupted his excuses.

"But I didn't mean that!"

"Well, why did you do it then?" The atmosphere around them felt electrified, as they quietly stared at one another.

Malfoy was the first to look away. He sighed deeply.

"I was going to apologize for that. Should I not do that?" His hands weren't touching hers anymore. Instead his arm was wrapped around his middle loosely. Like he needed something to hold on to. Haley felt something inside her soften at the sight. The feeling irritated her. Where had it come from?

"I didn't say that. You can do what you want but… an insincere apology… that's just a waste of time." She hadn't meant to sound this bitter toward the end.

Malfoy was biting his lips in a thoughtful way. It seemed like he was really considering her words.

"I… I _hurt_ you. Many times…" He whispered, "I was such a prat to you, I ignored you I – I insulted you, embarrassed you – I – I – I…" He swallowed thickly.

"I'm sorry for doing that to you." He looked up at her then, eyes brimming with sincerity and something like… remorse.

"I wish I could promise not to do that again but… I doubt you'd believe me." Malfoy glanced over at her hand almost longingly. Then he looked right into her eyes.

"Do you know that your eyes are really distracting?" He asked out of the blue.

"I dreamed about them once and after I woke up I spent an hour trying to remember the exact shade of green they had."

Haley blinked. Her heart had just skipped a beat! Why did he have to say these kinds of things? And why did he have to say them in such a way that almost seemed like he was _awestruck_? By _her_? Why did he have to keep confusing her until she herself wasn't sure what she felt anymore?

She didn't like this feeling. Didn't like it at all. She felt like she was drowning… Like she was slowly losing control…

Or maybe she was going crazy? She closed her eyes firmly.

"You're saying all that. You're using all these nice words but… in the end…" Haley took a deep breath, "In the end you still haven't explained. Anything." She concluded, focusing her eyes on the ceiling above her now.

"As far as I know, this is nothing but another game of yours," she continued, "I'm sick of being the punchline to another of your jokes – I –"

"Does this seem like a joke to you?" Malfoy yelled, effectively silencing her. "Look at me, for Merlin's sake!"

Haley glanced down to where Malfoy was kneeling. Literally on his knees, trying to make her believe him. It seemed like the picture of sincerity.

Well… in that moment he did seem sincere. More than that! But still… could she seriously just forget everything that had happened before?

"It's true," Malfoy admitted, "Lately… I haven't really done a lot to make you trust me but… don't you remember last year?"

"Last year?" Haley echoed, slightly confused about the sudden turn the conversation was taking.

"Yes," it seemed her non-aggressive reaction was encouraging him, "last year. Don't you remember how I helped you get through all the tasks? Why would I have done that if my goal was to harm you?"

"What do you mean you helped me through all the tasks…?" What was he on about? Had she missed something?

"Well, I guess it was just that _one_ task…" he conceded.

The frown on Haley's face became more prominent. Malfoy sighed, rolling his eyes.

"The Second Task? The egg-clue? You had a little problem with breathing underwater and I presented you with a fool-proof solution? Did you forget that?"

"The gillyweed!" That's what the boy had been talking about! Now she knew where this was going. Except… no she still didn't have an idea.

"But… but that was Dobby! I got the gillyweed from Dobby!"

For a moment Malfoy had seemed elated at the recognition in her voice. Now _he_ looked confused.

"No, no, no! That was _me_!" He said with a frown, "I gave you that note, remember? I was the one who told you to meet me in front of the kitchens that night. I gave the gillyweed to Dobby and asked him to give it to you! That was all _me_!"

His eyes opened wide, he seemingly tried to convince her with nothing but his grey orbs. But that wasn't even necessary. In a second a few things that hadn't hadn't quite added up before were making much more sense. It had seemed suspicious that she had met Dobby in the one night where she'd purposefully made her way down to the kitchens. And coincidentally he had also got her the gillyweed on top of that. If Haley remembered correctly, Dobby had seemed as if he was hiding something from her. And also…

"Neville!" She exclaimed, thinking of another thing.

"Actually, my name is Dra–"

"You stole his book about the water plants! Neville said, he had lost it, but… that was actually you, wasn't it? You found out about the gillyweed through Neville's book!"

Malfoy simply raised one eyebrow in answer.

Haley felt like something in her vision was righting itself all of a sudden. Something that had been upside-down for a long time was now standing right-side-up in front of her. It was a thrilling, exhilarating feeling. Like suddenly anything she could imagine was possible.

"You've been helping me… all along," she said in wonder. She remembered how helpless she'd felt back then. How much of a burden the whole tournament had been. And he'd really been there by her side. Irritating her. Disrupting her focus. But there nevertheless.

Malfoy shrugged. He wasn't meeting her eyes. Was that a faint blush she saw on his cheeks?

"Why didn't you tell me?" Haley asked.

The Slytherin sighed, "Well… you know…"

Haley waited, one eyebrow in the air.

"It's not… really – something… I would do, is it? Can't have people mistake me for a Gryffindor! Or even worse, one of those sickeningly well-meaning _Hufflepuffs_." He was shuddering in disgust. But beneath that, it was obvious that a part of him didn't worry about the Hufflepuff part too much.

Maybe he even enjoyed doing something nice for a change. Or was that thought too optimistic?

"You could have told me though," Haley said, leaning forward a bit. And then she did two things. One thing she herself wasn't expecting and the other thing, she had been wanting to do for a long time. She slipped from the bench to the ground until she was situated in front of Malfoy. Kneeling as well. Then she reached for his shoulder and let her hand rest on top of it softly.

She took a deep breath and released it in one short sentence, "Thank you."

The words seemed to confuse him. He kept looking back and forth between her face and the hand on his shoulder in a surprised way.

"Why…" He paused, trying to find his voice, "Why would you thank me? After everything..."

He trailed of. All of a sudden he looked inexplicably sad.

Haley bit her lips. It was hard to find the right words.

"I… kept hoping..." she said in a quiet voice.

"Hoping?" Malfoy asked, still sounding doubtful. But there was also a hopefulness in his voice that took her back to a wondrous night with a fairy that seemed like it had transpired in a whole different life time.

"Hoping that… I hadn't been wrong about you. That-" She stopped herself. While she'd been talking Malfoy had slowly raised his head until he was finally meeting her eyes. There it was again. Hope. What was it he was hoping for? Regardless of the answer it was that urgency that made her heart stop. That made her throw caution to the wind and tell him exactly what had been on her mind. What she had been afraid to say in case all of this was nothing more than a joke. It was now or never.

"That there was more to you. More than what you let everyone else see. I kept hoping…what I saw that night… That it was true. That you were more than just a heartless bully."

For a moment Malfoy didn't say a word. He just looked at her in wonder. Almost like he wasn't understanding what she had been saying. Haley didn't dare blink. She was too anxious for the Slytherin's reaction. And when had her heart started to beat so fast? Maybe it had something to do with the way Malfoy's lips were slightly parted or how his eyes were virtually shining.

Then he made a sound between a laugh and a sob. And he laughed again in a way that was hopeful and hesitant at the same time.

In a move that was almost too fast for Haley's Seeker reflexes, Malfoy took her left hand in his.

He removed her other hand from his shoulder and cradled it in his own hands as well. He didn't look at her. He was too busy watching their hands. But that didn't mean Haley couldn't look at him.

He seemed almost delighted. Like he just-

Huh? Had he just pressed a kiss onto her hand? Haley's eyes widened. They hadn't even talked about _this_. This other _thing_.

Without giving him a chance to kiss her hand a second time, she pulled it away from his grasp, ignoring the disappointment on his face. She looked away.

"Sorry," Malfoy whispered, "I… I couldn't help it…"

She didn't answer but she glanced over at him quickly. He was blushing again! Haley chuckled quietly at that. It made him look really cute. She bit her lip shyly. Where had that thought come from? She leaned her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, letting her head rest on top of her arms.

It was quiet for a few seconds. Or minutes? Haley didn't know. She also didn't dare look up from the ground.

Malfoy inhaled audibly, as if he wanted to say something. But there were no words. Had she imagined that only? After another moment he took another deep breath. This time he also spoke.

"I… Does that mean you're… are you giving me another chance?"

Haley was conflicted. One part of her said ' _Don't be a fool. He's only tricking you. It wouldn't be the first time_ _'_ , while the other more forgiving part told her, _'_ _Can't you see that he's being sincere? What will you do if he ends up becoming a death eater and it's all your fault. Because you turned him down today?_ _'_.

Haley had often heard that she was like her mother. She always saw the good in people. It sounded like a positive trait at first. But she couldn't shake the feeling that it would come back to bite her one day. Haley had already made up her mind as she was raising her head, and meeting Malfoy's grey eyes at last.

"How do I know… that you won't change your mind again next week?" She had to ask that. It was a legitimate doubt, wasn't it?

Malfoy chuckled darkly, "I brought this on myself," he whispered, "Of course you don't believe me. Why would you?" It was a question but he didn't give her a chance to answer.

"Let me…show you," he said with renewed confidence, "Give me… I don't know – three months to show you how serious I am about this. How much I… _care…_ about you."

Malfoy looked so sincere in that moment, she wanted to _cry_. Well she wasn't about to cry in front of him. And not over something like _that_.

"Three months?" She asked skeptically.

Malfoy pouted at her tone. "Fine, two months," he conceded.

Haley raised her eyebrows in a doubtful way.

Malfoy scowled. "One. Month. Then." He gritted out.

She inspected her fingernails in an unimpressed way. If she was going to keep herself from grinning, she couldn't look at him. His irritation was far too amusing.

"Half a month?" He asked quietly.

"Four weeks it is then," Haley told her fingernails in a disinterested voice.

"Fine," Malfoy spat, "Two weeks, four weeks, I'm sure I can convince you of my fabulousness in only a day."

Haley snorted at that. She finally looked up at him, laughing.

"Yeah?" She asked curiously. Malfoy's eyes were full of determination. She smiled.

"You bet. I'll show you on our trip to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"Excuse me?" Haley frowned. Had she missed something?

"There's a Hogsmeade trip planned for next weekend and I-"

"I know that. What I meant is I don't remember you actually asking me to go or anything."

He looked dumbfounded.

"But I thought-"

"What?" She asked in a dangerous voice.

Malfoy cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"So…there's a Hogsmeade trip coming up next weekend. I thought you might like – I mean -" He stopped when he saw the unimpressed expression on her face.

"Would you – would you like to go together?" He was trying really hard. Haley saw that. But she couldn't bring herself to simply say _yes_. Not after everything that had happened before. And there was also something else. She was forgetting something. Or someone? But she couldn't remember what it was. She blamed it on her tiredness.

"I'll think about it," she said, and hadn't she said those exact words not too long ago? To someone else?

Malfoy had seemed optimistic before. Now his expression was back to being slightly guarded.

"If you don't want to just _say_ so. I don't care for false promises and empty words." He glared at her warily. Maybe it hadn't been the most clever way of putting it.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Well, you didn't say _yes_!" Malfoy interrupted her hotly.

 _We have to be the most stubborn and hot-headed people in the castle_ , Haley thought to herself. Was it possible for them to have even one conversation without either of them raising their voice?

"I didn't say _no_ either," she reminded him, trying to stay calm.

Malfoy regarded her in a thoughtful way for a moment.

"So, you're really going to think about it?" He inquired finally. Haley nodded.

"Make sure to let me know once you've decided," he said, seeming somewhat convinced.

"Sure," she whispered, "You'll be the first to know." She smiled softly.

There was a tiny smile on his face as well and for a few seconds they just sat there softly smiling at one another. In that moment it was hard to imagine how cold his eyes had been, how they had reminded her of a harsh winter storm. Now the iciness had made way for a more… a more…

Haley yawned. Her eyes were drooping again. Now that all the excitement was somewhat over, her body had decided to remind her, that she was incredibly tired.

Malfoy was getting to his feet. "Come on, it's late," he said, extending his hand.

It would change everything if she took his hand now. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing?

She briefly considered ignoring it and getting up on her own but in her current state of tiredness the thought alone seemed nearly impossible.

So she took the hand that was hovering in front of her and let Malfoy help her up.

She still felt the same. She was still Haley. But then, what had she been expecting?

"I'll take you back to your common room," Malfoy told her. He was still holding her hand.

"I'll manage, thanks," she muttered with a frown. His hand was cold. Why was it so cold?

"I'm sure of that. But it's already past curfew. What if a teacher catches you?"

Was he worrying about her? What a ridiculous thought.

"And what are you going to do about that?" She asked curiously. It didn't feel different from holding Hermione's hand really.

"Well, I'm a _prefect_. Did you forget that?" He adjusted his grip on her hand. There was no spark. Shouldn't there be a spark? Or a tingly feeling at least? In any case it didn't feel unpleasant.

"You sound like Percy," she chuckled, "And what are you going to say, when we come across a teacher? Will you tell them that you were just escorting me back to Gryffindor Tower?"

"Well I… I'll think of something…" He said unconvincingly. He wasn't even acknowledging her jab about Percy. Instead he started to swing their hands back and forth. Haley wasn't sure Malfoy was even aware of what his hand was doing.

"Just… _come on,_ " he insisted impatiently. The way he tugged at her hand, Haley thought he was trying to tear her arm off or something. At least it wasn't her injured hand.

"As convincing as that sounds, I'm afraid I-" She stopped herself. Was that the sound of footsteps?

Malfoy seemed to hear it, too. He let her hand fall without hesitating for a second. She knew why he'd done it of course but It kind of bothered her that he was so quick to let go.

"Ah, there you are. Hermione was worried you'd gotten yourself into trouble aga-"

Haley turned to where the voice had come from. Ron. He hadn't spotted Malfoy at first but now that he'd stepped further into the hall, he glared at him.

"Leave her alone! You slimy, arrogant, little-"

"Weasley." Malfoy interrupted him in a rather neutral tone.

Ron watched him warily, clearly waiting for the insults that were bound to follow.

Haley was waiting, too. She didn't know what she was waiting for though.

Malfoy turned to face her again. He was wearing his signature smirk but it didn't seem mean-spirited to her. There was still warmth in his eyes.

"Night, Potter," he drawled. Then he turned around and vanished in the direction of the dungeons.

Ron was at her side in less than a second.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened?" He asked, looking her over worriedly.

Haley didn't know how to properly answer either of those questions. So she simply shook her head.

"I really don't get that git. He usually never wastes an opportunity to be a jerk. I mean what was that? Honestly..." Ron trailed off, shaking his head. "You may be right about him. His behaviour is definitely suspicious. We should keep our eyes on him – Haley?"

Haley had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't paid attention to where she was going. She was standing in the middle of the stair case that lead up to their tower with her shoe stuck inside one of the trick steps. Ron had caught her arm, so that she wouldn't fall.

"I missed the trick step," Haley said in confusion. She never missed the trick step.

"You missed the trick step," Ron repeated sounding equally confused.

"Are you really okay?" He asked, once he'd helped her pull her shoe out of the step.

"I – yeah," Haley offered slowly, "I'm just… really really tired."

It wasn't like Ron to press for more information. Even if he did suspect there was more behind her words. He wasn't comfortable talking about "feelings and all that mushy stuff", as he would put it. And he'd never initiate that sort of conversation. There was no doubt he would listen to her worries if she came to talk to him about them. But he'd let her come to him in her own time. It was something she appreciated about her friend. After all she wasn't near ready to tell him that Draco Malfoy had kind of asked her on a date. And… what was even more insane was the fact that she was actually considering to say yes.

…

* * *

A/N: It's here! The end of the pining is near. Which means there's space for fluff now. But don't get too excited Haley still needs to decide who she's going to go to Hogsmeade with!  
Thank you so much for reading and favouriting and following this fic. It means the world to me :)  
As always leave me your thoughts if you feel like it and check out my new fic "Walking on Dreams" if you want to.

Have fun and keep reading, Feather :)


	7. Sentimental Illness (For You)

**7 – Sentimental Illness (For You)  
**

HALEY

"He's staring at you."

"What? Who?"

The words startled Haley. She frantically looked around the Great Hall. But she couldn't find anyone that was staring at her. Not even at the Slytherin table.

"Justin," Hermione replied, nodding toward the Hufflepuff table.

"Oh," she said, feeling a heavy weight in her stomach. She hadn't given him a reply yet and it was almost one week after they had talked.

She carefully glanced toward the Hufflepuff table and there he was. He was smiling at her and waving cheerfully. Haley smiled back and gave a little wave herself. Then she focused on curling up some pasta on her fork again. She didn't have to look up to know that Hermione was watching her with curious eyes.

…

Haley couldn't sleep that night. Her mind was keeping her up with all kinds of useless thoughts.

How was she supposed to decide this on her own? Which choice was the right one?

She couldn't decide it on her own. It was time to get some advise. With renewed determination Haley crawled out of her bed and went over to Hermione's. She peeked through the curtains to see if her friend was still awake.

"Couldn't fall asleep?" Hermione asked, with a knowing look in her eyes.

"How did you know?" Haley asked back, as her friend sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"Your tossing and turning could have woken a troll," she dead-panned. Well, she had a point there.

Haley grinned sheepishly. Hermione chuckled and patted the space next to her. She crawled onto the bed and sat down beside her friend.

"So…what's on your mind?"

"I… I don't really know where to start…" Haley admitted, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"How about at the beginning?"

Haley sighed. If only it was that easy.

"You know… hypothetically speaking," she whispered, "if somebody asked you on a date… what would you do?"

"Hypothetically speaking?" Hermione echoed. Haley nodded.

"Hm… I guess it would depend on what I thought of the person who asked me. Whether I liked them or knew them in the first place."

"Right," Haley whispered, saving that information for later, "And what would you answer?"

"You haven't given them your answer?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised.

"No," Haley replied, "I- I mean – we're – we're not talking about _me_ here…"

She felt like she was shrinking under her friend's unimpressed gaze. She wasn't fooling her.

She sighed. "Fine. I admit it. And no, I haven't answered yet. Not properly anyway."

Hermione grinned in a way that was annoyingly satisfied.

"Well, what _did_ you say?" She asked.

"I said, I'd think about it," Haley whispered.

"That's it? Nothing more?" Her friend wanted to know. Haley shook her head.

"What else was I supposed to say? I didn't know what to do! I still don't know…" She bit her lips anxiously. This was so frustrating. Hermione smiled at her warmly.

"I can't tell you what to feel, Haley. This is something you need to figure out on your own."

Haley frowned in annoyance. "But how am I supposed to do that?"

Hermione watched her for a moment, considering her next words.

"Have you tried picturing it?" She asked finally.

"Picturing what?"

"Going on a date with them."

Haley shook her head again.

"If you can't picture that, maybe you should say no," she advised thoughtfully, "but if you can..."

Haley gave it a try. She tried to imagine what it would be like to go on a date with Justin Finch-Fletchley. She came up blank. She didn't know him well enough. In her mind she saw herself smiling awkwardly and frantically thinking up things to talk about.

And then Malfoy… What would a date with the Slytherin be like? She couldn't picture that either.

They would probably end up strangling each other. She chuckled at the thought. But there was also the chance that it would be completely different. She couldn't imagine sitting in a café with the boy and drinking tea or coffee like normal people did on a date. It was impossible to picture anything like a typical date where Malfoy and her were concerned. But strangely that didn't bother her too much. If anything it fueled her curiosity and made her want to find out exactly what it could be like.

"I think you've got your answer," Hermione said with a smirk. Haley bit her lips shyly. She was one step closer to making a decision.

"So, aren't you going to tell me who asked you out in the first place?" Hermione asked.

Haley froze. "J-Justin," she whispered almost soundlessly. She wasn't lying but it also wasn't the whole truth either.

"Who would have thought," Hermione replied nonchalantly, bumping her shoulder lightly.

Haley cleared her throat uncomfortably. It looked like there were two boys at Hogwarts she was owing an answer.

…

DRACO

Draco had never behaved in a more pathetic manner than he was now. And he'd never cared less about it. His upper half was slouched over his table in the library and he did nothing but sigh.

Sigh. There was no reaction. Maybe he should try sighing louder. He proceeded to sigh louder.

Still no reaction. This was useless. He hit the table with his fist in frustration. The long scratching sound of a quill on parchment could be heard.

"I'm trying to finish my Transfigurations essay," Lovegood informed him kindly.

"So what?" He grumbled moodily. The scratching stopped.

"You're being a bit loud. It's hard to concentrate like that," she said, in her calm, quiet voice.

How was she this calm? How was she this calm, when Draco felt so restless?

He turned his head so he was facing her. "You're no help at all," he complained with a pout, "how dare you act like everything is fine when I still don't know, whether she's coming with me or not?"

He absolutely didn't sound like a four-year-old. Absolutely not.

"Right," Lovegood said, "You finally asked Haley on a date, didn't you?"

Draco watched her suspiciously. "Wait. How do you know about that?"

"Who else would you be talking about? Besides, you're the one who told me. About eleven times, I think," Lovegood stated.

Draco squinted his eyes at her. Why did he spend his precious time with the Ravenclaw again? He looked away in annoyance. He sighed again. He would sigh until the world got better all on its own. Whenever that would be.

"You're sighing again," Lovegood observed like the clever little Ravenclaw she was.

"So I am."

"Is there a particular reason you're sighing?"

"Yes, there is," Draco whined, "I asked her out on Friday, right? And she still hasn't given me a proper answer! Do you know what day it is today?"

"Of course, I do."

"It's Thursday!"

Lovegood nodded.

"And the Hogsmeade trip is already this weekend! Can you believe that?"

"I can."

"Exactly!" Draco exclaimed, "I mean – I mean, Merlin, this is so frustrating!"

"Why don't you simply ask her?"

"I can't just _ask_ _her_ ," he objected, "What a _stupid_ idea."

"Why not?" Lovegood wondered.

"Well…" Draco leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"What if she says no?" He muttered dejectedly, "What if she actually goes on a date with that Hufflepuff loser?"

"Now, that would be disappointing, wouldn't it?" The Ravenclaw stated, picking up her quill again. Draco wasn't sure whether she actually meant that or whether she was making fun of him.

He watched her warily. She looked innocent enough.

"Should I ask her then?" She asked offhandedly.

"No, you should not! That's a terrible idea! Are you sure, you're actually a Ravenclaw?"

Lovegood didn't seem offended by his barb in the slightest. She only grinned as if she knew something he didn't and replied, "I simply thought, since she's going to come over here anyway-"

"What do you mean she's coming here anyway?"

"You were working on a potions essay earlier, weren't you?" The girl inquired.

"Yes," Draco answered slowly. He didn't know what that had to do with anything.

"Aren't the two of you in the same potions class?"

He nodded. Where was the girl going with this?

"And where did you get your books for research from?"

Something started to dawn on him. He had gotten his books from the shelf just around the corner. Because that was the part of the library where all the advanced potions literature was. That meant…

Sooner or later she had to come here to get her literature as well.

"But she's not even in the library at the moment," he argued.

"You didn't know?" Lovegood asked, "I've seen the Lion Princess maybe half an hour ago, she was sitting somewhere in the front part of the library."

" _Lion_ _Princess_?" Draco asked in irritation.

"You were the one who told me not to say her name," Lovegood reminded him, "Besides, I thought it was fitting. Did you know that some people call you the _I_ _ce_ _P_ _rince_?"

Draco was momentarily thrown off by her impossible logic. But he had to admit that her deductions concerning their potions essay hadn't been stupid at all.

"Oh, wasn't that her voice just now?" Lovegood wondered, tilting her head to one side.

She was right. He'd heard it, too. He would recognize her voice everywhere. Potter was talking to someone. And it sounded like she was really close.

"She can't see me here," he whispered.

Draco wasn't ready to face her. Not here. He wasn't ready for people to find out that he spent time with Loony Lovegood. Who knew what the Ravenclaw would say or how she would embarrass him?

It seemed like the girl knew exactly what he was thinking.

"There's still time to hide," she suggested, "Under the table or behind that shelf…" She said it with an air of indifference. But to Draco who was slowly getting to know the Ravenclaw's antics it seemed that she was slightly disappointed over his behaviour. At the same time it seemed as if she hadn't expected anything else to begin with.

He knew he was being unfair. But in that moment there were more important matters than worrying about the feelings of Luna Lovegood. Surely she would understand.

He got up from his seat and made for the shelf that marked the boundary between the normal and the restricted area. He certainly wasn't going to hide under a table! That was beneath him.

And luckily there was a small opening between two shelves that he was able to squeeze through. Another step to the left and he was mostly hidden from the view of anyone who was possibly coming to his and Lovegood's corner. And just in time it seemed.

"Luna, hey," asked a voice that Draco easily recognised as Potter's. He couldn't even see her because there was not a single gap between the books. At least he was still able to hear her voice.

"Hello," replied Lovegood in her dreamy voice.

"Do you still need that?" Potter asked, "That's exactly the book I was looking for."

What book? She couldn't be talking about _his_ book, could she?

"Oh that," Lovegood answered, "Feel free to take it, I don't need it."

How could she just give his book away like that? Draco was sure the girl had done that on wouldn't have taken her for a resentful person.

"Are you sure?" Potter asked, "Great! Thank you, Luna."

Draco guessed Lovegood must have nodded or something.

"This essay is insanely complicated! I was about to give up," she admitted. Draco had to force himself not to run to her side and offer to be her tutor or something. It was all due to the desperation in her voice. But at least he was able to help her indirectly. With the book. He'd even marked the most important passages.

"Is that meeting still going to take place on Saturday?" Lovegood inquired.

"What meeting?" Potter wanted to know. Draco was curious about that, too.

"The Defence Against the Dark Arts meeting," replied Lovegood.

"Oh. Right," Potter said, "I didn't know Hermione invited you, too."

"She didn't," stated the Ravenclaw, "Ginny told me about it."

"Oh, I see."

That was fun because Draco had no idea what they were talking about.

"So, we're still going to meet in Hogsmeade?" Lovegood asked.

"Yes," Potter answered. She sounded confused about the question, "Why wouldn't we?"

"You could have made other plans. Meeting friends or going to visit the Shrieking Shack. Everyone says it's the most haunted building of England. But I'm not so sure about that. Not since dad took me to Canterbury Castle last winter."

"Well… I've certainly seen enough of the Shrieking Shack," Potter answered slowly, "You don't need to worry though, we'll definitely have our meeting on Saturday. But I don't think it's going to take all day."

It was silent for a moment. Then Potter's voice could be heard again.

"Well, then… I'll see you on Saturday. And thanks again for the book!"

Draco heard the Gryffindor's retreating steps and squeezed back into their seating corner.

He sat back down in his chair and started to wonder what all of that had been about.

"See?" Lovegood asked, smiling in a satisfied way.

"See what?" Draco asked in annoyance.

"Now, you know that the Lion Princess still has enough time for a potential date on Saturday."

"Yes, but we still don't know _who_ that potential date is going to be _with_. And what meeting were you talking about anyway?"

"I can't tell you that," Lovegood stated simply.

"Why not?" Draco questioned.

"You haven't been invited," she said with a shrug.

"So what?"

"So, I can't tell you that."

"Invite me, then."

"I don't think that's a good idea, do you?"

Draco stared at the Ravenclaw in disbelief for a moment. Then he realised something.

"This was pointless. Utterly pointless."

Lovegood shrugged. Then she said, "I can't do everything for you. If you want to know something you should ask."

"Is that some clever Ravenclaw saying?" Draco scoffed.

"It's common sense," Lovegood said in her dreamy voice. Now she was being smart with him? The nerve of her! This was unbelievable. He crushed his teeth together.

"We should go," the Ravenclaw said, as she packed up her things and got up.

"What?" He asked. As if there was any place the two of them would go together.

"I'll help you find out about your heart's desire," the girl whispered.

What? Was she going completely insane? Normally Draco would never have listened to such a crazy suggestion but there was something in the girl's eyes that told him, she knew exactly what she was talking about. _What's the worst that could happen?_ , he found himself thinking.

And as he got up and took his bag he wondered, whether craziness was actually contagious.

...

HALEY

"I can't concentrate when I'm hungry," Ron groaned with his head on the table.

Haley knew exactly what he was talking about. She let her head fall onto the table as well.

"The two of you are unbelievable," Hermione chided them. But she knew it made little sense to keep working on their homework when her two friends were this demotivated.

"There's nothing wrong with a little break, I guess," Hermione relented, getting up and packing up her quills and rolls of parchment. Haley was just about to do the same when someone stopped next to their table.

"Is that your quill?" Asked Luna Lovegood dreamily.

"Yeah, is something wrong with it?" Haley asked in return, as she packed up her own things. Luna had picked said quill up from the table and inspected it curiously.

"I was wondering what kind of bird the feather is from," she mused.

"Um, actually it's not from a bird," Haley explained, "It...belonged to a hippogriff." To be exact it was one of Buckbeak's feathers. A present from Sirius.

"Really?" Luna asked in amazement, "I've always wanted to see hippogriffs! I heard Hagrid used to teach about them. But then there was some kind of accident with a student and-"

"Haley! Are you coming or should we go ahead?" Ron called from the entrance of the library. She hadn't even noticed that her friends had already started to leave. Well, it was impressive how fast Ron could be when there was the promise of food.

"I'm coming!" Haley retorted before turning back to Luna, "Are you coming with us? It's almost time for dinner."

"Do you mean that?," she asked, astounded, "Ginny is the only person that has ever asked me to walk to the Great Hall together."

"Yes, of course, I mean it," Haley replied. It didn't sound like the girl had many friends. She felt bad for the Ravenclaw.

"That's really kind of you," Luna said, "But I still have some things left to finish up. Maybe some other time?" She sounded really hopeful.

"Of course," Haley made sure to convey that she really meant what she said, "Good luck with your assignments!"

She sent her an encouraging smile, before turning and making her way over toward the exit where Ron and Hermione were waiting.

"Wasn't that Loony Lovegood?" Ron asked, once Haley had reached them.

"It's Luna, Ron," Haley corrected and started to walk ahead, "And I don't think she has many friends, so you should be nice on Saturday."

"Saturday?" He asked.

"Yeah… remember our Anti-Umbridge meeting?"

"Of course, I remember that. Is Loony coming, too? You actually invited her?"

"Ginny did," Haley stated simply.

"Hm," Ron replied, "So what did she want from you anyway?"

"Oh.. um, she wanted to see my quill. You know, the one Snuffles got me. She seemed to be interested in magical creatures."

"She'd like Charlie then," Ron commented.

It was then that Haley realised something.

"No! I forgot it in the library," she groaned in annoyance, as she stopped walking.

"What?" Ron asked.

"My quill! It's not in my bag!" She exclaimed, as she rummaged through her bag hastily.

"Why don't you simply ask Luna at dinner? She might have picked it up," Hermione suggested.

"No, I'm going to look for it myself," she said. It wasn't just any quill. It had been a present from Sirius so she was definitely not going to risk losing it.

"Besides, it didn't look like Luna was going to be finished any time soon."

"Well… we'll save you a seat," Ron informed her and continued his march to the Great Hall. He was such a caring friend. Hermione rolled her eyes over his behaviour.

"See you in a bit. I'll save you some of the pumpkin pasta you like," Hermione told her with a smile. Haley smiled back gratefully. "Thanks Hermione," she said and started to make her way back to the library.

…

Luckily she didn't have to walk all that far. There was a corner at the end of the hall. She only had to turn that corner, walk down another hall and then she would reach the library. If she walked fast she would be back in the Great Hall in less than five minutes.

As Haley almost ran around the corner she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. If there had been a student leaning against the wall, she would have run past without taking notice of them. She would have run past if that person hadn't been clearing their throat importantly. Even then, she wouldn't have looked back.

But as it was, she knew that head of blond hair. She also knew the arrogant posture. And what seemed awfully familiar as well, was the quill he was holding in his hand.

So she stopped. Only to stalk over to the boy purposefully.

"That's my quill," she said accusingly. She was standing in front of him now.

"You're welcome," Malfoy drawled, holding the quill out to her.

Haley snorted. "I didn't know you were supposed to thank a thief."

She reached for the quill but Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her and held it out of her reach.

"I'm not the one who forgot this precious quill in the library. I merely found it," he said, as he inspected the quill closely.

"Fine, I forgot it," Haley admitted. She imagined it was easier that way, "Can you give it back now?"

She didn't feel like doing this now. She hadn't even talked to Justin yet. That was one conversation she did not look forward to. And she sure as hell didn't want to have a similar conversation with Malfoy now. Not with everything that seemed to be floating between them unsaid. Not when she still didn't have the slightest idea on how to behave around the boy. How to talk to him. How to not stare. How to not blush when she looked into his eyes. How to forget that not a week ago this boy had asked her out on an actual date. How was she supposed to keep herself from freaking out over the whole situation?

"Of course you can have it back," Malfoy said almost sweetly. That was odd. She hadn't thought he would give in so easily.

"But first, I think you owe me an answer," he added, grinning smugly.

So much for giving in easily. Malfoy walked a few steps down the hall toward an empty class room. He was obviously expecting her to follow him. Haley closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply.

How in Merlin's name was she supposed to talk to him? How?

She opened her eyes again and saw that the expression on Malfoy's face had softened somewhat. He was waiting for her.

He was right. She did owe him an answer.

Every step she took toward the boy felt meaningful. Haley was afraid that Malfoy thought the same. That he wouldn't let her turn around again once she was there in front of him. She was probably overthinking this but she couldn't help it.

"I'm not going to eat you, don't worry," Malfoy whispered once she had reached the class room.

"All I want is an answer," he added as the door fell shut behind them. Haley couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped. What was he planning to do with her? Why hadn't she grabbed the quill and run away?

It seemed almost as if Malfoy was sensing her discomfort. He took a few steps away from her and sat down on top of one of the tables. Her quill was on the table next to him. He looked slightly uncertain all of a sudden. Like he hadn't expected her to react like this. And now he had no idea how to continue with his plan.

Haley shook herself out of her paralysis. This was stupid. She was a witch. She had faced Lord Voldemort. She would certainly not think herself into a panic just because of Draco Malfoy.

With newfound purpose she marched over toward the boy and stopped in front of him.

"You want to have an answer?" Haley asked, her voice like an oncoming storm.

It seemed like Malfoy was surprised over her sudden change in attitude. Then he considered her question and seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"I believe, that's what I said," he answered, looking straight into her eyes. Haley had practised this. Well, in her mind at least. She had desperately tried to come up with the right set of words that could convey what she wanted to say to him but something about this look threw her off.

He looked at her as if he was afraid. Afraid of her words. Like her words had the potential to turn his life around completely. To change him. And to change her, too.

Suddenly they weren't enough any more. Her words sounded all wrong in her head.

Malfoy was watching her with his silvery, grey eyes and all she could come up with was, "I don't know – it's – I just – I – I don't know what to say."

Malfoy frowned at her, trying to make sense of her words. Then he finally asked, "Do you despise me that much?"

"I – no, that's not what I –" Haley answered but Malfoy already started to ask the next question.

"Is it because of that Hufflepuff loser then?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

He glared at her angrily. "You know what I'm talking about! That… Hufflepuff who – who asked you – well, are you going to Hogsmeade with him or not?"

Haley shook her head. "No, I'm not," she insisted, "How did you even know about this?"

This piece of information seemed to surprise the Slytherin. It surprised herself as well, as she hadn't made her final decision until then.

"I – I… Really? You're really not going with him?" He asked, grabbing Haley's shoulders and searching her eyes with unexpecting urgency.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head quickly.

Malfoy grinned happily and squeezed her shoulders once. Then he let go of her and leant back on the table until he was lying on his back on top of it.

"I'm so _g_ _lad_ ," he whispered into his hands that were covering his face. He sat back up in one move, making the huge, delighted grin visible. Who was this person and what had he done to Draco Malfoy?

Haley didn't know what would happen next but just in case it was even more insane than anything the Slytherin had done before, she sat down on the table behind her. Everything was easier if you didn't have to worry whether your legs would continue to support you or not.

"So… you don't despise me," Malfoy stated, watching her closely.

Haley shook her head. She had long since stopped hating the boy. Had it really been hate in the first place? Whatever it had been it was different now.

"Do you.. dislike me then?" Malfoy asked.

"Not really… no," Haley replied. Where was he going with this?

The Slytherin slid down from the table and took a step toward her until he was the one standing in front of her.

"Do you… hate the idea of going to Hogsmeade with me?" Malfoy questioned, resting his hands on the table on each side of her and leaning far into her personal space. The git was playing dirty. How was she supposed to think straight when his glinting eyes were the only thing she saw? Haley swallowed thickly.

"I don't," she breathed almost soundlessly.

A smug little smirk appeared on the Slytherin's face and he leaned back slightly. His gaze was focused on his right hand that had started to play around with the sleeve of her robes.

"You see, to me it sounds like there is absolutely no reason for you not to come to Hogsmeade with me."

It was impossible to argue with him when he put it like that. Haley tried to think of a clever response but her head felt strangely empty in that moment. She didn't feel like arguing anyway.

"I guess," she gave in at last. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest. She felt herself losing control over the situation. How was Malfoy doing that?

"So, you are coming to Hogsmeade with _me_ , right?" The Slytherin asked again, as if he had to make sure she wasn't tricking him. What a funny thought. She wasn't the one who went around tricking people.

"Technically, I can't really do that," she argued, finding her wits again. Malfoy watched her warily.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Haley chuckled. "Well, it's not like we can actually walk down the path to Hogsmeade together. Everyone would see us."

It was almost comical how fast the expression on his face changed from wariness to relief.

"Don't worry, I've already figured that out," – _Of course he had –_ "We can just meet somewhere. I'll let you know where."

His hand was wandering from her sleeve to the back of her hand, his fingers ghosting over her skin lightly. But he seemed hesitant to actually touch her.

Haley looked up into his face and saw something akin to nervousness. What an unusual sight. But it was also a tiny bit cute.

Malfoy exhaled soundly, "Is that...all right…?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes," she agreed, chuckling slightly. She decided to put him out of his misery.

"I'll meet up with you in Hogsmeade." It was insane. Haley knew that. But with the way Malfoy's whole face seemed to light up at her words she couldn't find it in herself to worry too much.

...

DRAGO

"Yes, I'll meet up with you in Hogsmeade." _Yes. I'll meet up with you in Hogsmeade. Yes. I'll meet up with you. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES_.

This girl in front of him with the impossibly green eyes was going to be the end of him.

How was it that a couple of words or her smiling face made him feel like there was a bloody inferno burning through him? Or like he was lighter than a feather, with nothing to ground him and no safety net beneath.

He didn't know what he would have done, if she had said no. But luckily he didn't have to find out.

Because she had said yes. To him.

Draco wanted to hug her. He wanted to kiss her. More than he usually did. He wanted to pull her close and never let go.

He did none of that. Because as much as he wanted to, he was afraid _she_ wouldn't want it.

The last thing he wanted was to scare her away. Holding her hand would be okay though, wouldn't it?

"Good," Draco whispered, as he let his hand rest on top of Haley's. It was so small. But it felt pleasantly warm in his own hand.

Of course it was more than just "good". More like amazing. Or _fantastic._ Or _brilliant!_ But Draco couldn't admit how much her answer meant to him. Not yet. He had to preserve _some_ of his dignity.

"Good," he said again, losing himself in the girl's sea green eyes, that were calmly glancing back into his. He could keep this up for hours, just stare into her eyes and forget everything else around them.

"Um," Potter cleared her throat, "Hermione and Ron are waiting for me. So…"

She pulled her hand out of his grasp and looked away.

So _what_? Let them wait. Draco didn't care if they had to wait ten hours. He didn't want Potter to go already. She would have to get past him first anyway. But Potter wouldn't be Potter if she let his mere presence stop her. The girl swung her legs to the other side of the table and slid to the ground.

So much for getting past him.

She was almost at the door when Draco called after her, "Wait, you forgot this!" _Again,_ he thought as he held up her quill.

Before Potter could turn around completely Draco had made his way over toward her.

"Here," he said, holding the quill out to her. She took it out of his hand but before she could turn to leave, Draco grabbed her wrist, effectively stopping her.

"You can't go back on your word, now," he told her quietly.

Potter raised one eyebrow at him. "I always keep my word," she said almost playfully and grinned at him.

It was probably for the best that Potter chose that moment to free herself from his grasp and left the class room. The playful tone of her voice had been a direct attack on his heart. And Draco didn't know how much more of it he would actually be able to survive.

If nothing else it was good practise for Saturday. After all he would be spending much more time with her on their Hogsmeade trip.

Once Draco's heart had calmed down somewhat, there was a tingling sensation that filled his whole body from head to toe. What was it he was feeling? It reminded him of flying but it was even better than that. He wanted to tell someone. Anyone. How was he supposed to keep this to himself?

 _I have to go and find Lovegood_ , Draco thought. It seemed as if he really was going crazy now. Well, if being crazy always felt this amazing, he wasn't going to complain.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello people :) I know you were probably expecting the date but... this chapter simply went on and on so... instead it's like a prologue or something. Which means the Hogsmeade trip will come up in the next chapter!  
A little info: I'm starting on my thesis pretty soon so I won't have much time to write. Or to update. But I think you won't have to wait for the date chapter too long :) Also, gosh, writing Draco with Haley is so tough. He doesn't let you progress with the story because he's too busy fawning over her... Get a hobby, Draco!  
Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Title's from Green Day's "Too Dumb To Die"


	8. Glow of Something New

**8 – Glow of Something New (Hogsmeade – Part 1)**

HALEY

Haley had not the slightest idea what was happening around her. It was a good thing Hermione had done most of the talking. They were currently sitting around a big table inside the Hog's Head (the world's most shabby pub of all time) planning how to go about their new Anti-Umbridge-Alliance.

There were about twenty students from all houses except for Slytherin. She knew most of them but was surprised that some of them had actually come. Cho Chang for example (Haley didn't remember talking to the girl more than once), Michael Corner as well (he had probably come with Ginny) and a few others. Justin Finch-Fletchley was there as well even though she had turned him down only days ago. Haley didn't think she would forget that conversation in a long time.

…

" _Hi Haley!"_

" _Um… Hey Justin."_

" _So, I don't mean to push you or anything but… did you make up your mind yet?"_

" _I – actually… um…"_

" _It's no problem. If you need more time I can just-"_

" _No!"_

" _No?"_

" _I don't need more time. I've made up my mind."_

" _So?"_

" _I… I really appreciate your offer but I – I can't go to Hogsmeade with you."_

" _Oh."_

" _I'm sorry."_

"…"

"…"

" _It's fine. I…is it because of another guy?"_

" _Um…"_

" _I hope he makes you happy then. I'll see you on Saturday!"_

…

It had been more than slightly awkward. But at least she had got it over with. And from the looks of it Justin didn't seem to be bitter about it at all. If he was he didn't show it.

Hermione was handing a list around now, that everyone was supposed to sign. It seemed like the meeting was close to the end, which meant that it was almost time to meet Malfoy for their... _meeting_. She refused to call it a _date._ It wasn't a date! Haley wasn't nervous at all. She was mostly curious because she had no idea what she was supposed to expect. All he had told her was that he would come get her once she had got rid of her friends. Whatever that was supposed to mean. Was he hiding somewhere near the Hog's Head?

Once the list was back in Hermione's hands, everyone started to get up and the air was filled with voices saying "bye" and "see you later".

"That went well, don't you think?" Hermione asked, as she stored her list inside her bag, "It's still fairly early. Shall we go to The Three Broomsticks?"

Now it was time for Haley to get nervous. She hadn't even come up with a suitable excuse to separate from her friends yet.

"Are you not feeling well?" A voice to her left asked.

"Huh?" Haley turned her head left. Blue, curious eyes were blinking up at her. Luna Lovegood.

"I'm – uh–" She mumbled.

"I think it's because of the Butterbeer," Luna said, but she didn't give Haley the chance to answer, "Sometimes the pixie dust they use is too old. It happens more often than you would imagine. It feels like there are gnomes dancing around in your body, doesn't it?"

"Uh..."

"Don't worry. It's not too dangerous. It will probably pass if you lie down for a bit. Maybe you should go back and rest?"

Haley was too perplexed to answer. Was Luna actually serious or had she made it all up? But what reason would she have to make it up?

"Did you just say there's _pixie_ _dust_ in Butterbeer?" Ron asked, watching the Ravenclaw in wonder. Luna nodded. "You didn't know?" She asked.

"Don't listen to her, that's rubbish," Hermione said harshly.

"It's _not_ rubbish," Luna disagreed, sounding slightly disgruntled.

"Anyway," Hermione continued, "Are you coming, Haley?"

"I–" Haley looked back and forth between Hermione and Luna. Maybe this was exactly the excuse she needed.

"I do feel a little unwell," she said. It was only half a lie, seeing as she did feel slightly uneasy. It didn't matter that it was for a completely different reason. "It might be better if I head back early."

At once Hermione's tone became worried, "Are you sure?" She asked, feeling the temperature on Haley's forehead with the back of her hand. "Your temperature does seem a bit high. Come on, let's get you back to the castle."

No! That didn't help her at all. They weren't supposed to escort her back!

"B-but didn't you say you wanted to go to the book store and-"

"Don't worry, that can wait," Hermione interrupted her, "I'll just do it next time."

This was it. Haley had no choice but to go back to the castle with her friends now.

"I could escort you if you wanted to," Luna suggested, "I never really know what to do in Hogsmeade anyway."

This was the solution. She would just go with Luna and once they were far enough away from the village, she would say she felt better and come back here.

"You would really do that?" Haley asked in a casual tone of voice.

"Sure, that's not a problem at all!" The Ravenclaw confirmed.

Hermione eyed Luna suspiciously. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea. We should-"

"Come on, Hermione, didn't you say, you really needed that book for the OWLs?"

Haley knew she had her. The word _OWLs_ worked like magic.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly, "But you'll go straight to Madame Pompfrey if it gets worse, all right?"

"All right. You go and have fun!" Haley wished, feeling only slightly guilty for lying to her.

They left the pub together and once they stood beneath the sign of the Hog's Head, Hermione gave her a brief hug.

"See you later," she told her, "We'll make sure to be back soon."

"You really don't have to do that," Haley argued. But Hermione was already stepping away and leaving, waving back at her one last time.

"Bye, Haley! Bye Luna! We'll make sure to get you lots of sweets and stuff from Zonko's!" Ron called back good-naturedly. It didn't take long for them to disappear out of sight.

"I feel better already," Haley said after a moment, "It must be the fresh air."

Luna said nothing. She simply watched her, contemplatively. Did she know that Haley hadn't been telling the truth?

"I want to show you something," she whispered then, walking ahead without giving her the chance to argue. Haley had no choice but to follow the girl.

"Where are we going?" She asked, after a few minutes of silent walking. She didn't recognise the buildings around her. There weren't even shops anymore.

"Luna, I don't think we-"

"We're here," the Ravenclaw whispered, stopping in a narrow alley between two wizard houses.

Haley could hear the chatter of people nearby. It seemed like they weren't too far away from the main road.

"What do you mean 'we're here'?" Haley asked suspiciously. She was slowly growing anxious. What was the Ravenclaw planning?

Luna stepped in front of her and reached for her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Don't worry, the Ice Prince is already waiting," she told her mysteriously, "Good luck for your date."

She let go of Haley's hand and quickly walked away in the direction they had come from.

"Wait!" Haley called in confusion, "What do you mean? What are you talking about? Hey!"

She wanted to run after the girl but she couldn't take even a single step. Because someone had taken hold of her left wrist.

"What the-" She started to say as she stumbled back into the person that had grabbed her. The rest of the words died in her throat once she found herself face to face with a boy. Did she know him? He seemed familiar but something about him was odd.

The boy was wearing dark-rimmed glasses and his hazelnut brown hair was gelled back. But she knew that smirk. And she also knew those grey eyes. If it wasn't for the hair colour and the glasses she would swear this was Malfoy! But why did he look like that?

"What happened to your hair?" She asked in confusion.

"Do you like it?" The boy in front of her drawled lazily. It was definitely Malfoy. Nobody else she knew drawled like that. Haley snorted.

"You wish," she retorted. Then she noticed a silver hand mirror in his left hand.

"I knew you were vain but… is it really necessary to carry around a mirror with you?"

Malfoy simply watched her, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

"Here," he said, holding the mirror up right in front of her face. Haley reached for it reflexively and took a look at her reflection. She looked exactly the way she always did. Which was weird because she had done her hair up in a bun this morning. But now it was all over her face like she'd walked out of a hurricane.

"Huh?" She whispered, astonished.

Malfoy chuckled. "You're blushing," he told her. What? She wasn't blushing! Why would she be-?

But he was right. Her reflection in the mirror was turning redder by the second. But how? Why?

She hadn't known it was possible to blush this furiously. Malfoy kept chuckling like this was the funniest thing he had ever seen. Haley glared at him. Did it have something to do with the mirror?

"What kind of mirror is this?" She asked in annoyance.

"A _metamorph_ _mirror_ , of course," he replied matter-of-factly.

"And how does this meta-mirror thing work?"

" _Metamorph_ _mirror_ ," Malfoy corrected, "Have you ever wanted to change your hair colour?"

"I…" Of course she had! But why was he asking her that? She looked into the mirror again. Haley knew she had her mother's eyes. She had always wondered what she would look like with her mum's red hair. As soon as the thought entered her mind, the reflection in the mirror changed. The girl in front of her had sleek, red hair that went almost down to her waist. And from the corners of her eyes she could see that her own hair was suddenly long and red as well.

Haley let the mirror fall in surprise.

"Woah!" She exclaimed as she felt the silky strands with her fingers.

"Careful Potter," Malfoy said in an amused tone, picking up the mirror swiftly, "Breaking mirrors is bad luck."

"What kind of mirror is that?" Haley asked another time.

"It's a _metamorph_ _mirr_ -"

"I don't care what it's called! Where did you get it from?"

Malfoy shrugged. "It's an heirloom. The charm lasts for about an hour, I think. I thought it was a good idea. No one will recognise us like this."

It had indeed been a good idea. She had to admit that. She snatched the mirror from the boy's hands and took another look at herself. Maybe she should try different glasses? Or was it possible to get rid of them completely? The girl in the mirror looked back at Haley without glasses. It was a strange sight. And it was even stranger that she was able to see her reflection clearly. If she could make her glasses disappear, perhaps it was also possible to…

"Huh!" She almost let the mirror fall once more, at the sight of her forehead that was now smooth and scarless. "I – I think, that's enough for now," she stammered and pushed the mirror back into Malfoy's hands. She liked her face the way it normally looked. She was used to it. Seeing herself without her trademark glasses and the lightning-shaped scar was odd. Not to mention the red hair.

Malfoy stored the _metamorph_ _mirror_ inside the shoulder bag, he had brought with him. He took in Haley's new features and smirked.

"Interesting," he commented with a chuckle. Haley rolled her eyes. As if he looked any less strange. The only familiar thing were his tailored robes. Did the guy never wear normal clothes?

"Shall we?" Malfoy asked but he didn't wait for an answer. Instead he turned around and started to walk in the direction he had come from. As soon as he realised she wasn't following him, he turned around, raising one eyebrow expectantly.

"This is not a secret plot to kill you," he said dryly. Well, that sounded reassuring.

"Where are we going?" Haley asked, not moving an inch.

"It's a surprise?" Malfoy answered in a tone that implied something like _"Are you stupid?"_

Haley glared at him. She didn't like that tone at all. And what was he talking about anyway? A surprise?

"What kind of surprise?" She asked suspiciously. She wasn't sure whether she was up for a surprise.

Malfoy ran his hand over his face and sighed. He walked back toward her until he was standing right in front of her.

"Haley," he said quietly, softly, like a caress. Like he was carefully trying out her name on his tongue. This one word was all it took to make her heart stop.

 _What?_ Haley couldn't do more than blink stupidly as the boy in front of her took her left hand in his and started to play with her fingers. The unexpected touch made a shiver run up her arm, making her wonder whether it was caused by the touch itself or the coldness of the boy's fingers.

"I barely slept last night," he admitted, his eyes focused on her hand, "I was too worried you might not like what I planned for today. But now… you won't even let me surprise you. Shouldn't you come with me so you can at least properly make fun of it all?"

The last part was obviously meant to sound mocking but as Malfoy lifted his grey eyes, looking into hers cautiously, she was reminded of that boy from almost a year ago who had seemed so hopeful and vulnerable at the same time.

"I…" Haley started to say but she wasn't sure how to continue, "Why… Why did you call me that?"

The Slytherin smirked in the most annoying way. "I could be wrong but I thought that was your name," he drawled smugly.

"Very funny," She replied, not sounding amused at all, "You've never called me 'Haley' before."

"Well, don't get used to it, _Potter_ ," Malfoy whispered with an amused grin. Haley rolled her eyes over his childishness. For a moment it seemed as if there was something else he wanted to say but he stayed silent.

"Follow me," he instructed, as he started to walk again, pulling her along with him.

It wasn't too long before they had reached the main road again, with all the different shops left and right. Haley couldn't have imagined an experience more peculiar than this: walking through Hogsmeade with her fellow Hogwarts students all around her, following Draco Malfoy, who was holding onto her hand like he didn't ever want to let go.

But it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Malfoy was pretending to be someone else and she was doing the same. So, technically it wasn't _her_ who was holding _Malfoy's_ hand, which made it all strangely okay. As long as she thought that way she would be fine.

…

DRAGO

"So, you're still not going to tell me where we're going?" Potter questioned impatiently.

She looked up at Draco in a way that seemed so innocently curious that it made him want to squeeze her or jump around in circles or do anything equally ridiculous. It wasn't so much the expression itself that made him almost giddy with joy. It was more the lack of animosity. Or the fact that he was here in Hogsmeade with Haley Potter and he was holding her hand and they were on a bloody _date_! He barely stopped himself from giggling like a 13-year-old girl. _Barely_.

As he watched the girl, taking in every detail, from the maroon muggle jacket she was wearing to her dark blue muggle trousers, he wondered why she had chosen to change her hair colour to red. Did she like her Weasley friends that much? Or was it merely a coincidence?

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you ignoring me again?" Potter had stopped and was frowning at him now. It was really strange to see her without the glasses and the scar; and with her hair long and red. Although Draco liked her better the way she usually looked she was still beautiful. Her deep green eyes especially.

"Yes," he whispered absently, reaching for a long strand of red hair and freeing it from one of the buttons on her jacket it had caught on.

"'Yes'? Were you even listening?" Potter inquired in annoyance.

"Obviously I wasn't," Draco stated with a sigh, "Why is your hair red?"

"Presumably because I looked into your stupid mirror," she answered oh-so-cleverly.

Oh, he loved it when her fiery nature showed. She seemed like a kitten that was trying to be a lion. It was _adorable_. Draco had to bite his lips to stop himself from saying something stupid like ' _You're so cute I_ _could_ _eat you_ _'_. That wouldn't be a very malfoyish thing to say.

What were they talking about again? Right. The colour of Potter's hair.

"My mirror is _not_ stupid," he clarified, "Why red? Don't you like brown or green or… _blond_?"

Was he being too obvious? She had probably noticed the way he had said _blond_. Was it so wrong to want to know whether she liked his hair or not? It wasn't like she'd ever tell him that on her own.

Potter looked at him contemplatively like she was pondering something.

"My mum," she murmured finally, "It's what her hair looked like."

Oh. Her mum. Draco hadn't known she had been a redhead. Was Potter somehow related to the Weasleys? No, that wasn't possible. Her mum had been a muggleborn, hadn't she? Had he ever insulted her? He couldn't remember.

"She was a muggleborn," she told him almost in a challenging way. Like she was testing him. Testing his reaction. Well, Draco wasn't stupid.

"I know that..." He said in a neutral tone of voice. It was quiet for a moment. He had no idea what she wanted him to say. Or if he should say anything at all. "Do you um… do you remember her?"

"No," Potter said quietly, looking at the ground, "I was a baby when Voldemort murdered my parents, remember?" She lifted her head to meet his gaze.

Draco looked away. This wasn't exactly what he wanted to talk about on their date. It was actually the last thing he wanted to talk about. The only thing it did was remind him of the fact that Potter and him weren't supposed to go on a date together. They belonged to different worlds. Had different goals and believes. How long could it last? Was this really the right thing? Wasn't it a mistake?

But no, he couldn't think that way. He couldn't start doubting his decision now. It was too late for that. It wasn't wrong. Not with the way it felt to be holding Haley's hand.

It felt so warm in his. So warm and real. It wasn't wrong.

It couldn't be.

…

HALEY

"Is it still far?" Haley asked after they had started to walk again. Malfoy seemed uncharacteristically quiet. Was it because she had mentioned her mum? Did the fact that she had been a muggleborn make him uncomfortable? If so, it wasn't her problem. She wasn't ashamed of who she was or what kind of blood was running through her veins.

"No…" Malfoy answered absently, "We're almost there."

As Haley looked around she noticed that they were leaving the main part of the village. The shops and houses were getting fewer. The silence was starting to grow heavy around them. It felt almost suffocating. Hadn't there been so many questions before? Where had they all gone? She watched the Slytherin's profile contemplatively. It was definitely strange to see the boy without the blond hair and wearing glasses. She could almost forget it was him. If it weren't for the pointy chin… or the grey eyes that reminded her of a clouded sky. What was he so worried about?

"You look like you just found out someone hid your pet snake at the bottom of the Great Lake," she joked, trying for humour.

"Ha ha, Potter. I don't have a pet snake," Malfoy said distractedly.

"That reminds me," Haley remembered, the talk of the Great Lake had triggered her memory, "How did you get Dobby to help you out with the gillyweed? I mean, I know he used to 'work' for your family but… I didn't get the impression he was your biggest fan… so to speak."

"I… can be very convincing," Malfoy offered after a short pause, "Besides, after I told him that I needed the gillyweed to help _you_ , he all but agreed to do anything I asked him to."

Usually when it came to Dobby Haley would believe this right away but.. there was something in the way Malfoy was avoiding her gaze that seemed suspicious.

"Really?" She asked doubtfully.

Malfoy nodded hastily, which didn't stop the faint pink colour from spreading all over his cheeks.

Haley grinned smugly. "Well then, I'm sure you won't mind if I ask him about it myself."

"No! You can't!" Malfoy protested. The suggestion seemed to startle him so much that he even let go of her hand.

"Why not?" She asked innocently.

"That's because – because he is surely terribly busy at the moment! And – and it doesn't matter much anyway – hey, look, isn't that the place we were looking for?"

It was unbelievable how quickly Malfoy made up one excuse after another. It was also a tiny bit cute but that wouldn't stop her from getting the whole story from Dobby later on.

They stopped in front of a green patch of grass that was surrounded by tall trees. Around them the red, orange and yellow leafs were dancing, caught in the light autumn breeze that was blowing softly.

It looked awfully cosy. There even was a picnic blanket in the middle of it! It was green and grey chequered. Colours that suited a true Slytherin. Did Malfoy prepare this? Haley looked at him in surprise. But the Slytherin seemed to be busy doing something different, namely looking for something in his bag.

"There!" He exclaimed, as he pulled something out of his bag that looked suspiciously like an umbrella.

"What do you need an umbrella for? It doesn't look like it's going to rain any time soon," Haley said. The weather was actually rather nice. It was warm enough to take off her jacket. Underneath she was wearing a light blue, long-sleeved shirt.

"Umbrella," the boy repeated with a snort and walked toward the picnic blanket. He opened the umbrella – or whatever it was – and leaned it against one of the trees near the blanket.

"What are you waiting for?" Malfoy asked, watching her expectantly, "A special invitation?"

He smirked lazily. It looked just like he was back to his normal arrogant self. What a shame.

Haley thought about ignoring him and staying where she was just to spite him but… it wasn't really what she wanted to do. She walked the few steps over toward the blanket and sat down on it as far away from the Slytherin as possible.

"Let me guess. Another heirloom?" She asked with a nod toward the umbrella.

"Not bad, Potter," Malfoy said and grinned at her amusedly, "Come here, I'll show you how it works." He held out his hand in invitation and the sun made his eyes shine mirthfully. She noticed that his fake glasses were gone and his hair was starting to turn blond again.

She crawled over to him slowly – she didn't want to seem too eager – and glanced at the umbrella in curiosity. What kind of magic trick was hidden inside it?

Malfoy didn't wait for any more encouragement. "It's a time machine," he told her, in a rather casual tone. Like time machines were the most normal thing in the world.

Haley squinted her eyes at the boy in disbelief. "Do you expect me to believe that?" She asked sceptically. What did he take her for?

Malfoy didn't seem discouraged. "Believe what you want to but," he smirked in a superior way, "What do I get, if I'm right?"

What the hell? There was no way she would play into that. Not while there was this mischievous glint in his eyes. She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Fine. Show me what that magic umbrella can do," she muttered, ignoring the triumphant grin on the boy's face.

"That curious, are we?" He asked smugly. Haley rolled her eyes in annoyance. Couldn't he simply get on with it?

"So… you have to press this button," Malfoy explained, while pressing a round silver button above the handle of the umbrella, "And then it records the… essence of the people that sit underneath it."

"Like a photograph? Or a memory?" Haley asked, still wondering where this was going.

"You could say that," Malfoy confirmed. He raised his eyebrows expectantly like he was waiting for her to understand. But what was so great about a magic umbrella that recorded memories?

"And…?" Haley prodded, feeling extremely stupid.

" _And_ …" he repeated impatiently, "Once you're done with the recording you press the button again and seal the memory with a password." He seemed really excited for some reason.

"I still don't see how that makes it a time machine though," the Gryffindor dead-panned.

"It's actually really easy, Potter," he said in an almost patronising way, "The next time you sit under the umbrella, you only need to say the right password and it will take you right back to the memory it recorded beforehand."

"Like a time machine," Haley stated, she wasn't sure whether she completely understood how the magical umbrella was supposed to work.

"Exactly."

"Sounds a bit like an Invisibility Cloak," she added thoughtfully.

"Except it doesn't turn people invisible but takes them back in time."

"I don't see the big difference. Basically people can't see you anymore, right?"

"Right."

"Cool. And why did you bring it?"

All of the confidence seemed to leave the Slytherin at her question.

"Well… I thought, if we… in case we went on another…" His eyes were big and slightly uncertain, like he was looking for something in her face he doubted was actually there. Haley stared back cluelessly.

Malfoy shook his head and looked away. "Never mind," he muttered.

Perhaps… Had he been trying to say ' _in case we wen_ _t_ _on another..._ date _'_? Haley felt her face grow hot. This wasn't… She didn't know what she thought about the idea of another… date. Wasn't it too early to even think about? She hadn't even acknowledged _this_ as a date yet.

"I…" She started to say but Malfoy interrupted her.

"You probably haven't had lunch yet, right?" The boy asked but he didn't wait for an answer.

Instead he reached into his bag and retrieved a wooden box from it that looked big enough to comfortably fit two grown cats. He placed the box between them and opened it. Inside, there were different kinds of sandwiches, pastries – she even spotted treacle tarts! – and down below, was that an actual teapot? With teacups? It looked terribly delicious.

"I can't tell whether you're impressed or trying to catch flies," Malfoy disrupted her staring, sounding annoyingly amused. She closed her mouth, which had apparently been hanging open.

"I'm… not hungry," Haley whispered, still in awe over the amount of food he had brought.

"It's not poisoned, I swear," Malfoy informed her, chuckling.

"I didn't think it was," Haley answered, rolling her eyes, "Knowing you, you probably made a house elf prepare this."

"No, I didn't," he said, unconvincingly.

"You totally did," Haley exclaimed, laughing out loud over the realisation. It was kind of amusing.

"Are you going to eat something or not?" The boy replied, in an attempt to change the topic.

She didn't really have an appetite but it all looked so good. She would at least try one of the treacle tarts. Even if she tried she couldn't say no to these. There were even plates next to the teacups. Haley reached for her favourite treat and placed it on top of a plate, while Malfoy filled the teacups with a steaming liquid from the teapot.

"You brought tea?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow. She didn't know what else she should have expected. Butterbeer? Firewhiskey? Wine? Neither of those seemed more likely. But tea was so… _tame_ , so… _ordinary_.

"Obviously," the Slytherin drawled, "You don't like tea?"

"Of course I like tea. It's just… I don't know… unexpected," she replied.

Malfoy chuckled softly. "What did you expect? Firewhiskey? Dragonwine? Blood?" He placed one cup of tea in front of her. "Every respectable wizard drinks tea."

With three spoons of sugar in Malfoy's case. Haley grinned softly, as she absently took a bite from her treacle tart. Treacle tarts were usually really sweet but she imagined Malfoy's tea was even sweeter. By now he was at his fifth spoon of sugar! Did he have a sweet tooth? The thought was strangely endearing. Either that or he didn't realise how much sugar he was spooning into his cup. Haley felt herself grin as the boy lifted his cup to his mouth and took a sip. It didn't seem like he was surprised at the taste.

Haley chuckled. She couldn't help it.

"What's so funny?" Malfoy asked suspiciously, "Is there something on my face?"

Still grinning, she shook her head. The boy took another sip of his sugar tea and watched her warily.

He set down his cup and leaned closer. "Why are you grinning like that?" He asked, sounding irritated.

"It's nothing," she whispered, suddenly aware of how close their faces were. It seemed like Malfoy noticed it as well. His eyes were wandering over her face like he was trying to commit each little detail to memory.

"It's back," he breathed lowly, gazing at something on her forehead. Was he talking about her scar? Haley didn't really like people staring at her scar. She cleared her throat nervously and looked down at her hands. Malfoy seemed to sense her discomfort and leaned back on his hands.

She hadn't known he was capable of behaving in such a considerate way. He seemed so… human. Was this the real Malfoy? Or was he showing her one of his masks again? This was so confusing.

...

DRACO

Why was Potter staring at him like this? If only he knew what she was thinking. Was this good staring? As in, she couldn't help but stare at his extraordinarily handsome face? Or was it bad staring, as in, she regretted all of this and was trying to think of a way to end it as soon as possible? It couldn't be that, could it? He was going to go insane at this rate!

Potter was chewing on her cherry red lips. And no, now Draco was thinking about her lips again. Was it too soon to kiss her? Would she punch him if he leaned over and did just that? Merlin's beard, he would just do it! He would just lean in, close his eyes and-

"Can you tell me why…" Potter began, disrupting his plan, "why you were this horrible to me a few weeks back?"

Draco sighed. She wanted to talk about that _now_? "Can't we talk about this another time?" He asked in a hopeful tone.

"No," she said decidedly. He should have known better than to argue with her.

"It's just," the girl continued, "One day you're kind of nice and the next it's as if you despise me."

She shrugged. "Is it always going to be like this?"

Draco shook his head hastily.

"Everything I did for you last year… was real. But then after everything that happened during the Third Task and afterwards… I didn't know what was right anymore. I thought it was best to forget about... the way I felt… and just… go back to the way we were before. Enemies."

It was hard saying all of this out loud. Some of it Draco had talked to Lovegood about but… well Lovegood was not Potter. It didn't feel like every word was important when he looked into her blue eyes. But that was what it was like when he was met with Haley's sparkling green eyes that were kind of making him a little crazy.

"What… changed your mind?" She asked. Draco noticed that her cheeks were slightly pink. When had it become so hot around them? He had to take a deep breath. She was definitely driving him crazy. More than just a little bit.

She watched him in a curious way. Oh right, she had asked him a question.

"My mind?" He repeated stupidly.

"Yes… What changed it? Why did you – I mean… all of this, really… Why?" She gestured toward the picnic blanket and the food and the whole situation in general.

 _Why?_ Wasn't it obvious? But then Draco realised that he had never actually told her how he felt about her. Not in words anyway. He didn't even know for sure what it was he felt. It was definitely more than a fleeting crush. A mere crush wouldn't have been that persistent, right? Just sitting here together with her in the autumn sun made him feel all tingly inside. Made a thrill of excitement run through his body. But what did it even mean? And how was he going to relay those feelings in the right way? He cleared his throat nervously and started to play around with his empty teacup. It was easier to find the words when he wasn't looking at Potter.

"I tried… not to think about you but… somehow you were always there. And do you know how annoying it is that you're always getting yourself into trouble?"

He gave a short chuckle. Then he looked up at her and met her curious eyes.

"I didn't want to watch you fight your battle with Umbridge alone. I wanted to _shake_ you because you were being so _stupid_."

Potter glared at him. Well… maybe it hadn't been the right moment to say _that_. He cleared his throat again.

"Um… what I meant to say is… I didn't want to just watch uselessly anymore. And I was certainly not going to sit around while you went on a date with that dull Hufflepuff."

Draco shouldn't have mentioned the Hufflepuff. A frown was forming on Potter's face. It was funny how much she resembled her usual self in that moment. Watching him suspiciously. Her glasses slightly askew due to her scrunched up nose. And her hair was short again and back to its raven colour. The top half of it was tied with a green hair tie and part of her fringe was hiding the lightning-shaped scar. Draco couldn't help but grin as he waited for her response.

…

HALEY

This was the second time Malfoy had mentioned "the Hufflepuff". The first time had been on Thursday inside that empty classroom. How did he know about Justin asking her out?

"How do you know about Justin anyway? You spied on me again, didn't you?" She asked warily.

Her accusing tone seemed to disconcert him. "So? What if I did?" He asked defensively in return.

"Well, I don't like people following me around and spying on me." She didn't know why she couldn't just let this go. Maybe it was because everything else the Slytherin had said was so difficult to make sense of.

"Don't act so surprised, Potter," Malfoy said darkly, "You wouldn't expect anything different from a sneaky, evil Slytherin, would you? And a Malfoy at that."

"That's not what I said," Haley argued hotly.

"But it's what you thought! It's what you see when you look at me! I just – Didn't you listen to what I just told you at all?" He asked, sounding upset. His grey eyes were like a stormy sea, as they bored into her own. She felt so helpless all of a sudden. She didn't understand how their conversation had escalated into a fight so quickly. It was hard enough to take in everything Malfoy had told her. Because in the end he hadn't said much at all. Couldn't he have been clearer with his words?

The hard expression on his face softened visibly. "Have you ever…" He started to whisper, "ever seen me as a boy? Without the name and the house rivalry attached to it?"

Haley thought about his words for a moment. But then the boy lifted his left hand toward her face and stroked her cheek gently. It was impossible to form a complex thought after that.

"Can't you… try to do that?" He asked softly, never looking away from her eyes.

"For five years… I have... had this picture of you in my mind... That won't magically change over night," Haley heard herself whisper almost soundlessly.

For some reason Malfoy smirked at that. Then his eyes strayed down to her lips for a moment. Haley swallowed nervously as she realised that he had somehow got incredibly close to her. He stroked his thumb over her lower lip slowly, his touch incredibly soft.

"Why don't you let me... adjust the picture for you then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She couldn't even begin to think up a clever reply to that because her vision was filled with nothing but his grey eyes. The emotion in them was so intense that for a second she thought he was going to attack her. But to her surprise the attack turned out to be incredibly soft. It came in the form of a kiss.

She should have seen it coming. But at the same time, how could she have known? Before she could decide whether she liked the kiss or not it was already over.

Malfoy jumped away like he had been burned, hissing lowly.

 _Huh?_ A quick glance told her that he had indeed been burned by something. His right hand was soaked with a dark liquid and the teacup that Haley hadn't touched was upside down next to it. The Slytherin glared at the cup like it had personally offended him and wiped his hand on the blanket.

Haley took a moment to take in the scene before her. It seemed so surreal and downright ridiculous that she couldn't help but break into hysterical laughter. Malfoy turned his glaring eyes toward her. Maybe it wasn't the nicest thing to laugh at him after he had kissed her. But she couldn't help it. The situation was just too funny.

"Are you… laughing at me?" The boy inquired, still glaring at her. Haley just shrugged, trying to stop herself from laughing. But that was easier thought than done.

"Do I look that funny to you?" He growled, as he got into her personal space, his nose almost touching her own. Her laughter died down almost instantly, her breath catching inside her throat. For a second she saw a mischievous glint light up in the boy's eyes. Then it was gone.

This time Haley wasn't surprised by the kiss. Just as she had closed her eyes she felt a sharp pain in her lower lip. He'd bitten her! That jerk! It was probably because she had laughed at him.

Haley pushed him away irritatedly.

"What was that?" She asked in bewilderment. Was her lip bleeding? It didn't seem that way…

Malfoy chuckled. "Look, who doesn't know what a kiss is," he said mockingly.

"I know what a kiss is," she replied defiantly, "I've done lots of kissing, just so you know."

"Really," Malfoy scoffed, "Who did you kiss?"

"I don't have to tell you that," she deflected.

"Are sure you're not just saying that because there _is_ nothing to tell?" He asked. From the corners of her eyes she saw that his hand was slowly crawling over to where hers was resting on the blanket. She thought about pulling her hand further away just to annoy him.

"You're an expert in kissing, then?" Haley asked playfully, with one eyebrow raised.

Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly. "You know… a respectable wizard doesn't kiss and tell," he replied, grinning smugly.

Haley snorted. "Nice try," she said, "I almost believed you."

The Slytherin squinted his eyes at her disbelievingly, "Did you just imply I was lying?"

"Maybe," she replied offhandedly.

"That's funny. Clearly you're the one who's lying," he insinuated, as he reached her hand and covered it with his own. She noticed that it wasn't as cold as it had been before. It was probably due to the 'tea accident'.

"No, I'm not," she answered back stubbornly, trying to pull her hand away but he wouldn't let her.

"Yes, you _are_ ," he almost sang. She had never seen him in such a cheerful mood before. His fingers were gently stroking over the skin of her hand. It tickled. She suppressed a grin.

"No, I'm not," she repeated, wondering how long this was going to go on for.

"Yes," Malfoy leaned closer, making her lean further back in return, "You are."

Haley wasn't going to let him win this little competition. Her upper body was mostly resting on her fore arms. If she leaned back any further she would be lying down on her back.

"No, I'm not."

"So stubborn," he tsked, "just admit it already." He was on his side next to her now, slightly leaning over her with one hand still holding hers and the other resting next to her face. His face only inches above her own.

"You admit it first," Haley whispered, not caring the slightest that she had forgotten what they were arguing about.

Malfoy shook his head. "That's not going to happen," he whispered. She got the feeling that he, too, didn't know what they had been arguing about in the first place. His eyes never left hers and the sheer childlike delight that was reflected in them was positively disarming.

It was enough to make her give up the battle and let her body sink to the ground completely.

"You always have to have the last word, don't you?" She asked almost dazedly. She felt so weak all of a sudden.

He raised the hand that wasn't holding hers to her face and slowly ran a finger from her temple to the corner of her mouth. He let it rest there for a second, then he cupped her cheek in his hand.

Haley almost forgot to breathe.

"Yes," Malfoy said, grinning amusedly, "I do."

She was saved from coming up with a response by a pair of lips that covered her own gently.

…

This was not what Haley had thought her first real kiss was going to be like. Whatever she had expected it was certainly not this: Spread out on a picnic blanket with Draco Malfoy. Well, the picnic blanket was not the unusual part. It was a rather comfortable picnic blanket.

But she was being kissed by _Draco_ _Malfoy_. Draco Malfoy was _kissing_ her. And the most terrifying thing was that… it didn't feel unpleasant. Not in the slightest. It felt… nice. And also really soft because his lips were as soft as a freaking feather. Did he use lip balm or something? She wouldn't be surprised about that. It was also soft because his lips were moving over hers so gently. Hesitantly almost, like he was afraid of something. But what could he be afraid of? Kissing wasn't dangerous, was it?

It wasn't long before he pulled away. Haley opened her eyes to find Malfoy's gazing down at her already. He licked his lips that were unusually red and there was a look of wonder in his eyes. He wasn't even blinking. Was something wrong? Haley frowned slightly, opening her mouth to ask what was wrong but she didn't get that far. Whatever spell the boy had been under seemed to be broken, seeing as Malfoy rubbed his thumb over her cheek and leaned down to kiss her again.

His lips were still gentle but something was different about the way he kissed her. The hesitancy from before was mostly gone now. It felt more confident somehow. The fingers of his right hand were interlaced with her own and he angled his head to the side so he was able to reach her lips better. It was strange how little it bothered her that her glasses were sort of piercing the side of her face or that her hair tie was pressed against the back of her head in an uncomfortable way.

All of that was not important because something else was demanding her attention. It wasn't something blatantly obvious or physical even.

It was like Malfoy was telling her something through the kiss. No words. More like little impressions of what he was feeling. It was impossible to discern what each of those impressions meant. But overall there was one feeling that stood out among the others. Something _warm_ and _affectionate_. It felt so _raw_ , so _honest_ that it hit her with the force of an oncoming mountain troll. It was all for her. The way he sometimes looked at her, the way he kissed her in this very moment – that was him. Without any masks. It was _real_. It had to be. Haley didn't think it was possible to pretend to feel something like this.

It was a sobering realisation: Malfoy… He seemed to genuinely care… about her. Unfortunately this realisation raised another question: How did she feel about him?

…

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a while! But I hope the long and mostly fluffy chapter makes up for the wait :) Seriously that thing is almost 8k words! 12 pages on open office! And it's only the first part! I hope you survived this onslaught of fluffiness :D It will probably take some time until the next update since I'm still busy with uni stuff. I'll try not to take too long though :) I'm also planning to write a oneshot about how Draco got Dobby to help him. It'll be fun :D So... leave me your thoughts and keep reading!

Till next time, Feather :)

PS: The chapter title is inspired by "Don't you" by Darren Criss. (I used to be a huge fan and this song is so fluffy and sweet :))


	9. With Words Unspoken

**9 – With Words Unspoken (Hogsmeade – Part 2)**

DRACO

Draco hadn't known that kissing someone could feel like dying. He didn't exactly think much about dying to begin with. But never would he have imagined that death was such a sweet thing.

He had been afraid at first. Afraid that Potter would be able to see through him completely. See everything he wasn't ready to show her. He had been afraid that once she found out how he truly felt about her she would reject him after all. Or worse, feel disgusted by him and run away. But when he had looked at her after pulling away, he hadn't seen anything like that on her face. If anything, she had seemed somewhat confused…

With searching eyes she looked up at him, her cheeks slightly flushed and her lips even redder than before. _From kissing_ , Draco realised. And then he chided himself for wasting time, worrying himself half-stupid when he could just as well be kissing Potter. So he did just that.

No wonder she had been confused when Draco wasn't giving her a chance to understand him. He hadn't even been able to properly confess his feelings to her. And then it happened seemingly all on its own. All of the walls he had so carefully constructed were crumbling down around him and suddenly there was nothing but _Haley_. She was all around him, filling his mind and making every thought that had nothing to do with the girl disappear. It was like everything he made her feel – impatience, worry, anger, fear, _affection_ – was being poured into the kiss. There were so many things he had wanted to tell her but hadn't found the right words to do so.

How beautiful he thought she was. How much he liked seeing her smile. Or how the sound of her laughter made him want to sing. Although he didn't remember the last time he had sung. Or the seemingly simplest of them all: That he cared about her far too much and that this fact frightened him more than anything else. Maybe she would understand without him having to actually say it out loud. Maybe she would hear the words in his kiss.

Draco felt the urge to laugh at all these cheesy thoughts. How had it come to this? How could a girl make him feel this vulnerable? Like a pathetic fool. He felt so _much_. He felt as if he was drowning in the sudden wave of affection that was crashing over him, leaving him drenched in nothing but raw emotion. It was all too much. The kissing, the proximity, the sudden overwhelming rush of feelings.

He had to pull away, his eyes clenched tightly and breathing heavily. He felt as if he had just run two miles. Half-reluctantly Draco let go of Haley's hand and let himself sink onto his back next to her. His heart was thumping in his chest so forcefully he felt the beats reverberate all through his body. _Thump. Thump. Thump_. _Thump. Thump_. It didn't stop. Of course it didn't. It wouldn't do him much good if his heart actually stopped. Still. It was beating much too fast. This couldn't be normal.

"Malfoy?" A voice asked quietly, close to his right ear. He didn't open his eyes, still waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal.

Then he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Almost like someone had pinched him. Draco turned to lie on his side.

"Did you just pinch my arm?" He asked the girl in front of him in puzzlement.

"I thought you were asleep," she argued, shrugging. It looked awkward, since she was also lying on her side, facing him. Draco watched her for a moment, frowning. Was he the one who had gone crazy or was it Potter? He wondered whether it would be childish to pinch her back. He cleared his throat.

"Have you ever seen someone fall asleep in less than five seconds?" The Slytherin asked scoffingly. He noticed that his heartbeat was fairly normal again. It was probably all thanks to Potter and her stupid pinching. Or the fact that she was saying stupid things.

"I… don't know," she admitted, seemingly considering his question, "but that doesn't mean it's not possible."

"Right," Draco breathed, her answer reminded him strangely of something Lovegood would say.

"So… you weren't sleeping," Potter questioned, biting her lips like she was trying not to grin.

"Obviously," he whispered, forcing himself not to stare at her mouth. She hadn't said anything about their kiss. Wasn't she going to? What if she hadn't liked it?

"What were you doing then?" She asked playfully, one corner of her mouth was tilting upwards slowly.

"Thinking," Draco said lamely. Well, it wasn't a lie.

"About what?" Potter inquired, her voice no more than a whisper. Draco closed his eyes again. He couldn't keep looking at her intense _green_ eyes that were trying to suck all of the secrets out of his head. _You_ , he thought, _I was thinking about you. I was thinking about kissing you and how it made me want to kiss you more. And more and more. And how it suddenly all became too much. Because I felt too much. I still do. In a way it has always been like this with you. Feeling too much. At first I strongly disliked you and then… you… made me care._

"About what?" Haley repeated impatiently. He opened his eyes again.

"This…and that," he waved her off.

Haley raised an eyebrow at him, like she was waiting for him to elaborate. But he stayed silent.

"If you say so," she rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

Draco bit his lips nervously. Should he tell her?

"I really like…" He started to say, but trailed off, when she suddenly turned to face him again.

"I really… really like…" He tried again.

She looked at him curiously.

"Head massages," he finished lamely. He couldn't do it. Not while Potter was staring at him like that.

"What?" She asked, sounding perplexed.

"I said 'I really like head massages'," Draco repeated foolishly. It was true. He did like head massages.

"I heard you the first time," Potter informed him.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So, aren't you going to give me one?"

Potter looked at him as if she thought he was nuts.

"I think, I'll pass," she murmured after a pause. Then one corner of her mouth started to twitch upwards in amusement.

"I don't want my hands to get oily after all."

That hurt. Now she was insulting his hair?

"My hair is _not oily_ ," Draco growled in a dangerous tone.

Potter actually snorted at that.

"Anything that helps you sleep at night," she quipped with a chuckle.

"Fine," Draco sneered, trying for an indifferent tone, "I'll ask Pansy to do it later. She really enjoys massaging my head, you know? And she's good at it, too."

That's what Potter got for calling his hair _oily_. Draco raised an eyebrow at her in challenge. What was she going to make of that? Did it make her jealous to hear him talk about Pansy that way?

If it did, she didn't let it show.

"You should do that," she encouraged him instead, "That way everyone wins."

Draco glared at her. She was too cruel. Would it have killed her to at least pretend she was a little jealous?

He decided he didn't want to talk to her anymore. Not ever. Or at least not right this second.

…

HALEY

Was Malfoy seriously attempting to make her jealous? Haley suppressed an amused grin. This was ridiculous. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to think. There were at least a thousand thoughts chasing around one another in her head and at the same time she felt like she wasn't thinking at all. Like her mind was totally blank. What a strange sensation.

As she lay there on her back with her eyes closed, she sensed movement from the left. And not a second later a heavy weight settled on her stomach. What the-? Haley opened her eyes only to see that Malfoy was using her as a pillow. What the hell was he thinking?

"What are you-?" She started to ask but the boy whose head was currently lying on her stomach interrupted her.

"I'm not talking to you," he said petulantly. How old was he, four?

"And now you're getting that hair gel all over my shirt!" She complained half-heartedly.

"I can't hear you," Malfoy sing-songed, making Haley snort in amusement.

She felt the urge to hit him playfully but before she could do more than raise her arm, the Slytherin caught her right hand and placed it next to his face on top of her stomach.

"I'm keeping this," he mumbled softly, interlacing his fingers with hers.

"At least your hand doesn't talk back," he said with a snort. It would have been funny, if Malfoy hadn't decided to press a kiss to the back of her hand.

"I'm not letting go of this hand," he whispered seemingly to himself and it sounded almost like a promise. Haley had to close her eyes and try to calm her heart that had started to thump wildly in her chest. Then she felt a feather light touch on her pointer finger. And another on her middle finger.

He was kissing her fingers, she realised. With each little kiss that followed, Haley felt something fluttery inside her stomach. Were those butterflies? Whatever it was it felt scary. And overwhelming. And she didn't want it to stop. So of course it stopped in exactly that moment.

Malfoy was stroking his thumb over the back of her hand now. His hand wasn't as cold any more. She wondered whether there was a reason why it was always so cold in the first place. It couldn't hurt to ask, right? It wasn't like he was going to tell her he was a vampire or something.

"Your hands, they're..." she started to say but somehow it felt stupid to just ask in such a straight forward way.

"They're always cold. Why is… that?" She asked quietly. There. She had said it. She didn't know what she had expected but it was definitely not to be ignored.

Haley opened her eyes in annoyance and stared down at Malfoy.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, "I'm talking to you. I thought we were over the whole ignoring thing?"

But Malfoy didn't answer. In fact, with the way his eyes were closed and the calm rhythm of his breathing it almost seemed as if the boy was sleeping.

"Hey, Malfoy," she hissed, shaking his shoulder lightly with her free hand, "Hey, I know you're not sleeping. It wasn't funny the first time around."

All the Slytherin did in response to her administrations was pout slightly, and bury his face further in her shirt. It looked as though he really had fallen asleep.

Haley laughed. Not out of amusement but more over the sheer absurdity of the situation.

What would her friends say if they could see her right now?

Lying on a blanket underneath a magic umbrella that recorded memories together with bloody Draco Malfoy who had fallen asleep on top of her. What a crazy picture this painted.

For a moment, she allowed herself to really look at the sleeping boy. He looked so innocent that you might think he had never done a bad deed in his life. Well… Haley knew better. She could do anything she wanted to him now. Get revenge for all the times he had treated her badly. Nothing was there to stop her. Nothing except the tiny fact that Malfoy clearly trusted her not to harm him. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to just fall asleep like that. No matter how tired he was. But maybe this was only a test. Maybe he wanted to know what she would do with such an opportunity. But that was stupid. It didn't make sense. Hadn't he said earlier that he had barely slept the night before? Or had that been a lie? Well, it couldn't hurt to let him sleep for a bit. Maybe she could try and sort out her feelings in the mean time.

…

It was oddly dark around her when Haley opened her eyes. She could hear the soft pitter-patter of the rain on the leaves. When had it started to rain? And when had it got so dark? Where was she in the first place? The dormitory? She couldn't see much but it seemed just like Crookshanks had decided to use her as a bed again. She chuckled softly and reached down to pet him lightly.

"Crookshanks, how did you-?"

Haley froze. Since when did Crookshanks' fur feel this smooth? Just like… human skin.

Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the light that was beginning to fade to darkness but it was enough to confirm that it was indeed someone's face she had felt with her hand.

And then it all came back. She was somewhere in Hogsmeade with Malfoy who had fallen asleep. But she hadn't meant to fall asleep as well. From the looks of it it was already terribly late. Too late.

Haley sat up abruptly. Malfoy grumbled softly in his sleep but she couldn't be bothered to worry about him as well. This was bad! They had to get back to the castle quickly.

She shoved him away unceremoniously and started to look around for her jacket.

"Hey, what's wrong," Malfoy mumbled softly, sitting up as well and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"We don't have time!" Haley exclaimed. There was a hint of panic in her voice, "Quick, we need to pack everything up! There's no time! Don't just sit there. Help me!"

She couldn't understand how Malfoy just sat there and looked at her. Didn't he understand? They didn't have time for this. They needed to get back! And _fast_. Or else someone would _notice_.

That couldn't happen.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" The Slytherin questioned confusedly, "We don't have to be back for another two hours."

"You don't understand!" She almost yelled.

"Understand _what?"_ He asked just as hotly.

Haley sighed, biting her lips anxiously. "Ron and Hermione. I told them I was going to head back to the castle early. But look how late it is! I don't even know exactly _how_ late it is but – but – they'll know I lied – and – and what do I tell them?"

Malfoy frowned at her. "Just tell them you changed your mind," he offered with a shrug.

"That'll convince them," Haley replied sarcastically. For a moment she had forgotten she was talking to Draco Malfoy. Of course that was the kind of thing he would tell _his_ _friends_.

"Will it not?" Malfoy asked cautiously, seemingly picking up on her mood.

"Of course it will not convince them! If anything they'll be even more suspicious than before," she explained impatiently, "Why did I even ask _you_?" It came out harsher than she had intended to.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Malfoy asked, almost dangerously.

Haley took a deep breath. She needed to stay calm if Malfoy was about to go all dramatic on her. This wasn't the time for a fight.

"Nothing," she said quietly, silently pleading with the boy to just let it go.

"It didn't sound like nothing," he argued, "To me it sounded like you were implying I was too stupid to–"

 _"Please,"_ Haley interrupted him. On an impulse, she reached for his hand that was on the blanket next to him and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I didn't mean it like that… Let's just… quickly pack everything up and go… okay?"

Malfoy glanced back and forth between their hands and her face almost in wonder. This was the first time she had taken his hand of her own accord. It seemed like the Slytherin realised that, too.

His eyes lingered on their hands for a while longer. It was almost as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then a slow grin started to form on his face. He tried to fight it by biting his lips but it was a fruitless effort. Haley had already seen it. She even saw it in his eyes.

"Sure," Malfoy muttered, facing away from her to hide the joyful expression on his face.

Haley chuckled. Was this all it took to get him to stop arguing? Just holding his hand?

She squeezed his hand one more time, causing the boy in front of her to grin even wider.

What even was this? If only she had known she had this kind of power before. Her life could have been a lot easier.

…

They packed up the food and the picnic blanket and stuffed it all into Malfoy's shoulder bag. It was marvelous that it all fit into the small bag. It reminded Haley of a magical bag she had once seen in a movie about a nanny with magical powers.

It was probably charmed in some way. The only thing that was still left was the magical umbrella that wasn't an umbrella. Haley frowned. She still didn't really understand how it worked.

Malfoy stood in front of it and beckoned her to come closer. Haley walked over to him and waited for the umbrella to do something extraordinary.

"We need a password," Malfoy informed her, gesturing toward the umbrella.

"Can it be anything?" She wondered.

"Basically," he answered.

"How about 'Hogsmeade'?" Haley suggested.

"Wow, that's original," Malfoy scoffed.

"You come up with something then."

"Fine. How about… um… how about…" He trailed off, never finishing his sentence. A faint blush was littering his pale face, making Haley wonder what he had been thinking about.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing," he said, too quickly.

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

Haley stared at him for a moment, realising that he wasn't going to budge.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it then. You just have to push that button and then say the password, right?"

Malfoy nodded.

Haley grinned as she pushed the button above the handle of the umbrella. She had come up with a good one.

" _Sugar Tea_ ," she said to no one in particular and let go of the button. There was a flash of light, reminiscent of a camera flash and then the umbrella folded itself up. The only thing that was shielding them from the rain now was the tree they were standing underneath.

"Sugar Tea?" Malfoy questioned, frowning slightly, as he picked up the umbrella and stuffed it into his bag as well.

Haley shrugged. "You drink your tea with lots of sugar," she said amusedly.

"So?" Malfoy asked, squinting his eyes at her dangerously.

"Nothing," she retorted, biting her lips to keep from grinning even more, "It's just something I noticed is all."

"Really. And here I was, thinking you were making fun of me," he muttered sarcastically.

"Me? Making fun of you? That's _ridiculous_. I'd never do something like that," Haley replied, chuckling. It was too funny.

…

DRAGO

This was quickly becoming one of Draco's favourite things. Potter's laugh. This was already the third time today. He remembered all the times he had seen the girl laugh and smile in front of other people. How much he had wanted to have her be this open and carefree in front of him. Just once. And now here he was. And it didn't even matter that she was sort of making fun of him. He knew she didn't mean it in a mean way. Well, he hoped as much.

This was just a little fun. They were having fun _together_. And if that wasn't the most absurd thought he had ever had he didn't know what was.

His head felt as if there were a million tiny little fire flies flying around inside of it, making him dizzy. And wasn't he floating? No, his feet were definitely still on the ground. A quick look confirmed that. As he looked up again, he noticed that Haley wasn't laughing anymore. She was still smiling though.

"Come on, we should go," she said, voice still tinged with laughter. Draco didn't want to go. If they left now it meant their time together was almost over. The walk back to Hogwarts was all that was left.

"We can't," he objected, trying to come up with a convincing reason.

"Why not?" Potter questioned.

"Well because… because it's still raining," he argued. That ought to convince her. She was a girl after all. Surely she wouldn't want her hair to get wet.

The Gryffindor frowned at him. "We can just use your umbrella," she stated.

"I didn't bring an umbrella," he argued. What was she talking ab–

"Oh, you were talking about my time machine," Draco chuckled condescendingly, "It may look like an umbrella but that doesn't mean it also works like that."

Potter watched him in a doubtful way. She didn't seem to believe him.

"That's not a problem," she said in an almost challenging way, "I'm not afraid of rain."

Before Draco could utter something clever like _"Neither am I"_ , Potter had already turned around and walked away from the protection provided by the tree and right into the rain.  
Was she being serious? It seemed Potter didn't care much for her own hair but Draco was sure as hell not about to let his own precious locks of gold get all wet.

He reached for the hood that was attached to his cloak and made sure it covered his hair sufficiently. Then he ran after her.

…

HALEY

Honestly, it was just a little bit of rain. Nothing to be scared of. Haley was more worried what she was going to do about her friends' questions.

There was the sound of quick footfalls behind her. Malfoy. Not a second later he came to a stop in front of her, effectively blocking her way. It was all she could do not to walk right into him.

"What-?" She started to ask but she was distracted by the two hands that were reaching for her face. Or more precisely, past her face. He brought up the hood from her jacket and pulled it over her head.

"What's the point of a hood if you don't use it?" Malfoy asked almost chidingly, as he pulled on the fabric until it completely covered her hair and face. For someone who had complained about getting wet only seconds before, the boy sure took his time, doing useless things. Although he stood directly in front of her, he wasn't meeting her eyes. It seemed as though he was completely focused on the task of tucking lose strands of her hair away, making sure the rain wouldn't be able to reach them. It seemed like a rather domestic thing to do. Intimate even. _Too_ intimate for her liking.

"Stop that, it's just rain," she argued in a whisper, removing his hands from her face.

She had never really thought of him as dangerous before. Not with his snarl, not when he had insulted her, not when they had thrown hexes at one another. But this soft and caring side of him, she realised, was the most dangerous of them all. It wasn't an obvious kind of danger. It was the kind of danger that came unnoticed and wormed its way under your skin when you least expected it.

"Fine," Malfoy retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "But don't complain if one of your little friends recognises you." He seemed slightly miffed. Haley was just about to argue that it wouldn't be too long before it was too dark to see much anyway, when the softly falling rain suddenly turned into a heavy downpour. Well, she was glad for her hood _now_.

…

DRACO

Draco was slightly out of breath. Or maybe a lot. He knew it had been a stupid idea to run back to the castle. Surely the rain wouldn't have been worse had they walked in a slower pace. Well, it hadn't been his idea.

The castle was looming above of them. A black shadow against the darkening sky. It was almost up now. His time with Potter. He glanced over toward the girl that was leaning against the castle wall, catching her breath as well. She was looking up toward the towers, frowning slightly. She was probably worrying about her _friends_. With a pout Draco sank back against the wall next to her.

Potter turned to look at him. "It's over," she said quietly. Draco's heart sank at her words. What? Why was it over when it hadn't even started yet?

"The rain. It has stopped," she added with a smirk, sticking her hand out in front of her and bringing it back dry.

"Very funny," Draco muttered with a scowl. This was unsettling. How just a couple of words were enough to make him doubt this. He really didn't want their date to be over. Or anything else between them for that matter. How could Potter joke about that?

"I guess it's time to –"

"No."

…

HALEY

"No?" Haley echoed in surprise.

"No," Malfoy repeated, stepping in front of her and shaking his head slowly. Haley didn't understand. They were here, back at the castle. The Oak Doors were just a few metres away. She needed to get back to Gryffindor tower. Her friends had probably returned ages ago. There was really no reason to stay here.

"But I –" She started to say but two fingers on her lips stopped her.

"Potter," Malfoy whispered, capturing her eyes with his own unwavering gaze, "I've been wondering..."

Malfoy's face was mostly hidden in the dark. The few strands of his white blond hair that weren't hidden under his hood were shining in the moonlight. And his eyes seemed like tiny stars, glimmering in the night. She had never thought there would come a day where she would find herself thinking that Draco Malfoy was kind of beautiful. In an elvish sort of way. But here she was doing exactly that.

Malfoy removed his fingers from her mouth and started to speak.

"Today… was it enough to convince you?"

"Convince me? Of what?"

"That I am... not messing with you. That I have been... telling the truth."

She wasn't used to this. Him being all serious like that. What did he expect her to say? _'_ _Yes, you convinced me. I'll never doubt you again'?_ Something like this? Or was it better to say something like _'_ _You wish_ _'_ , walk away and laugh at him? No, that was too cruel. Although it would certainly be more fun than the first option. Maybe she would find something fitting between overeager and cruel.

"Not…completely," she offered, her tone not betraying any emotion.

There was weariness in Malfoy's gaze as he raised his head and looked at her. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, mildly disconcerted.

Haley bit her lips to keep herself from chuckling. It was almost too easy to mess with the boy.

"It means," she said slowly, "that as far as I know there are still three weeks left to convince me of your honest intentions."

Malfoy scoffed at that. "Who said my intentions were honest?"

"I assumed they were," Haley replied with a shrug.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't you think it's unwise to assume a Slytherin would have honest intentions?"

"I'm not a Gryffindor for nothing," she answered cheekily, finally allowing herself to grin.

"I didn't know stupidity was a Gryffindor trait," Malfoy mocked her. The git. But she wasn't about to back down so easily.

"It's not. I was referring to the bit about bravery."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'recklessness'."

"If it weren't for my so called 'recklessness' who knows whether I would have agreed to go on a date with you," She retorted, raising an eyebrow at him. How was he going to reply to that?

He squinted his eyes at her. "Flattering, Potter."

"It wasn't meant to be flattering," she informed him.

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know."

"Are you trying to make a point or something?"

"It's probably due to my recklessness. I can't help it. It's a Gryffindor trait."

Haley grinned even wider. Malfoy shook his head in disbelief. But she could see the tiny smile in the corner of his mouth he was obviously trying to suppress.

"Potter," Malfoy began in a sombre voice, "I wonder… would another date be enough to convince you?"

Haley should have anticipated something like this. Of course, he was going to ask her on another date. She wasn't exactly an expert on dating. But as far as she could judge their date had gone surprisingly well. They had laughed and argued and held hands and even kissed… She felt heat rush to her face at that particular memory.

"W-with you?" She asked nervously. Why was her heart beating so fast all of a sudden?

Malfoy chuckled softly. "Do you see anyone else around?" He asked in return.

She shook her head stupidly. What else was there to do?

"So..." he urged her.

Right. He was still waiting for an answer. It shouldn't be this hard to answer such a simple question. It would certainly be easier if the boy in front of her wasn't trying to burn a hole into her head with his intense stare.

"Maybe... I guess," she mumbled, "I did say I was going to give you four weeks – well three weeks now. But I always keep my word so..." She trailed off and shrugged. Had she said something wrong? Malfoy wasn't reacting at all. He just stared at her, the expression on his face frozen. It seemed almost like somebody had cast a full-body-bind on him. Haley frowned. There. He had blinked. And his lips were definitely twitching slightly.

"Okay," he finally muttered, "Great." Then he closed his eyes, for a few seconds like he was trying to take in something he couldn't quite believe.

She waited for him to open them again and when he did she was once again reminded of the stars. That's how brightly they shone. Two silver gems in the night. There was a smile spreading quickly on the boy's face but before Haley could take a second look, he had already taken a step toward her and squeezed her to death.

…

DRACO

This was better than flying. In fact, Draco felt like he was floating somewhere above the clouds. It was ridiculous. But it was real. As real as the girl he was finally holding in his arms.

She wanted to go on another date with him! Wasn't that simply amazing? He laughed delightedly.

So much for putting on a cool and indifferent mask. He had tried that for a few seconds. But in the end he had lost the battle against the ambush of his feelings.

He decided it wasn't too bad. He had acted on his feelings and now he got to hug her. Draco tightened his grip on Potter just because he could. He smiled contentedly into her shoulder. Her scent was all around him. It was something sweet and warm and – yes, he could get used to this.

Something was tugging at his arms. Was that Potter? He pulled away slightly to look at her.

Her cheeks had turned a faint pink. Was it because of the unexpected proximity? Whatever the reason, it looked _endearing_.

She cleared her throat and looked at her hands that were still holding onto his arms.

"It's late," she whispered.

Right. It _was_ late. And Potter had her loyal friends waiting for her, didn't she? The only problem was that Draco wasn't any more ready to let her go than he had been five minutes ago.

He raised his hand toward her face and tilted it upwards, making her look at him. The movement caused her hood to fall away from her face, but it didn't matter. They were the only two people in the night.

That's when Draco stopped to think. The only thing that was important was the girl in front of him, looking up at him out of her green eyes that were filled with curiosity. But she wanted to go. She wanted to leave him alone with his feelings. With his thundering heart that was foolishly urging him on to just lean in another few inches and at least feel those cashmere soft lips another time.

He closed his eyes and leant in ever so slowly, giving Potter plenty of time to stop him if she wanted to. Then he felt them. Soft lips touching his own, sending tingling sensations all over his skin. There were hands on his chest. Was she actually pulling him closer? He smiled against her lips. But no. She was pushing him away. What?

Draco opened his eyes in surprise, blinking down at the girl confusedly. She was frowning slightly and pulling him away from the Oak Doors and deeper into the shadows. The Slytherin turned around to see two dark figures approaching the entrance to Hogwarts slowly. His heart almost stopped. They had been _that_ close to being caught! He turned back to Haley.

"How did you–?"

"Shush!" She whispered, cutting off his words, "Don't look. Your hair."

She was probably right. With how shiny his hair was, they would spot him at once. He looked at Haley instead, who was carefully glancing back toward the two figures. Was she affected by the kiss at all? Either she was exceptionally good at hiding her feelings or she didn't care at all. Or perhaps it was more important to her that they wouldn't get caught.

Whatever it was, Draco already wanted to kiss her again. It hadn't even been a real kiss in the first place! It had been far too short. Not like the kiss before that… He smiled at the memory, closing his eyes. Why had he wasted all this time fighting with Potter when kissing her felt so _good?_

"I think, they're gone," whispered the girl in question, making his eyes open slowly. She was watching him contemplatively.

"I'm going to go in first," she whispered, "You should wait a few minutes before following me. If I don't come back it means the air should be clear."

Draco frowned. He had hoped… But of course they would part ways here. She wouldn't want anyone to see them together. _It's better that way_ , he tried to tell himself, _Less suspicious_.

Before Potter could take the first step away from him, he reached for her arm.

"Wait," he called, suddenly remembering something.

"What is it?" Potter asked, looking over to the castle impatiently.

Draco opened his shoulder bag and took out the wooden box. He opened it and retrieved a sandwich and two of Potter's favourite treacle tarts.

"What are you –?" The girl started to ask, as Draco handed her the box, so that he could wrap the treats up inside a handkerchief. It didn't look as neat as his mother would have done it but it would do. With one hand he took the wooden box from Potter's hands and placed his little snack package inside her open hands. Once the box was safely stored inside his shoulder bag again, he looked up at her.

' _You must be hungry,_ ' he wanted to say, ' _I noticed you haven't eaten much today_ '.

It was the truth but he couldn't exactly say that without completely giving away how deeply he cared. What he said instead was, "I don't really like those. They're much too sweet for my taste. You can have them."

Potter snorted, raising an eyebrow at him. "Well, it can't be helped then," she said lowly, "If they're too _sweet_ for you." It was weird how she stressed the word 'sweet'. Didn't she believe him?

"I –" he started to say, another excuse already forming on his tongue. But he was stopped by a tiny hand on top of his.

"Thank you," Haley murmured quietly, without looking at him. Her warm touch sent an even warmer tingle over his skin.

She looked up at him slowly. There was the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Goodnight, Malfoy," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She let go of his hand. Then she turned around and made her way toward the Oak Doors.

She was walking away from him again. He hated watching her go. So, he decided he wouldn't. Not this time. With no more than three steps he had reached the girl and stopped in front of her.

He shook his head, almost as an afterthought.

"You wait," he said, ignoring the surprised expression on Haley's face.

"Goodnight," he whispered in return. Then he turned around, walking in the direction of the castle.

There. He didn't have to watch her go now. Not this time.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello my dear readers ! Sorry for making you wait forever for that update! But as always life got in the way and this will probably be the last update for this year. I've just started my masters and it's so time-consuming, I barely get any time to write. Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm happy to hear your thoughts :)  
Oh and to anyone following my fic "A Little Braver", there will be an update of that soon :)

Title is from "Will you love me tomorrow" by The Shirells.

On a different note, I need to recommend some reading. It's basically anything written by Walter Moers. He is a German fantasy author and his writing is glorious. Maybe you've heard of "City of Dreaming Books"? Check him out if you have some time :)  
Also I've become a major GoT addict. Anyone watch that? If you do, please don't spoiler cause I'm still somewhere in season 6. I'll stop now :D

Have fun and keep reading

Feather :)


	10. What Friends Are For

**10 – What Friends Are For**

HALEY

Why was Malfoy insisting on leaving first? Was this a trap? No. She was being stupid.

After what felt like at least five minutes, Haley looked over to the school grounds one last time, before entering the castle. She had assumed it would be easier to make sense of her thoughts once Malfoy wasn't directly in front of her anymore. It was easier. At least a bit. Now that she didn't have to wonder how she was supposed to behave around him anymore. Or what it all meant that the boy was doing and saying. She could focus on the important things again. Like getting back to her common room.

There weren't many students in the halls. Either everyone was still in the Great Hall for dinner or… it was already over and they had all gone to their common rooms.

Haley wished she knew how late it was. She was almost up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower. Maybe she was lucky and Ron and Hermione hadn't returned from Hogsmeade yet. Or perhaps they were still in the Great Hall. But would that be better? Probably not…

She had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady now. There was no other way. She couldn't run away from this. She didn't feel like sleeping in the corridor.

" _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ ," Haley said, causing the portrait to swing open. She only had to tip-toe quietly through the common room and up the stairs to the girls dormitories. That shouldn't be too difficult.

"Haley, there you are!" Ron cheerfully called her over. Him and Hermione were seated in their favourite armchairs near the fireplace. Haley grimaced. While she walked over to her friends she tried not to appear like someone who was hiding something.

"Hi!" She greeted them nonchalantly, plopping down on one of the armchairs.

"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked, shortly glancing up from a long scroll, she was furiously scribbling on. What was she talking about?

"I – um… uh – actually – I – uh..." What? Now she couldn't even form a proper sentence? Well, too bad, she hadn't been able to come up with a good excuse.

Hermione put down her quill and looked at her. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking something between confused and worried.

"Is it the butterbeer, still?" Ron asked. He was trying to take a look at Hermione's scroll, while she was distracted. If Haley didn't feel like she was being interrogated she would have grinned. But wait. Butterbeer? Butterbeer... Of course, the butterbeer! It seemed so long ago that Luna Lovegood had told them that story about old pixy dust in butterbeer but it had actually only been several hours.

"Oh! Yes! I – um… that butterbeer – I… well…" Haley stuttered, what the hell was wrong with her? She simply didn't know what she was supposed to tell them. How in Merlin's name was she going to get out of this?

"Don't worry, Luna already filled us in," Hermione said, with a reassuring half-smile, as she picked up her quill again and pulled the scroll away from Ron's curious eyes.

Haley didn't understand. What did that mean?

"Yeah, she told us that you'd started to feel better soon after we left the Hog's Head," Ron informed her, "And then she wanted to show you some special shop about magical creatures but you couldn't find the shop and lost your way. How did you manage to do that?" He laughed. "I mean, Hogsmeade isn't that big, is it?"

"Um..." Haley was confused, to say the least. What did Luna have to do with all of this? Why had she covered for her? Did she know about her and Malfoy?

"She also mentioned that you wanted to stop by the kitchens before heading up. Is that why you took so long?"

"Uh..." This was weird. It almost seemed as if she had forgotten how to talk.

Then she remembered the package she had got from Malfoy.

"Yeah, that's… why it took me so long," she offered.

Ron grinned at her, obviously believing her story. She grinned back in relief. Then Ron took a closer look at the package.

"What's that?" He asked, sounding curious.

She followed his gaze. Why was Ron looking at the handkerchief? There was a stitched design in one corner of it. She hadn't spotted it in the dark. But now she saw something that looked suspiciously like an _M_.

"I..." There were no words. How was she going to get out of this? And to make matters worse, now even Hermione was looking up from her letter and glancing in the direction of the handkerchief. Haley's heart beat like it was trying to jump out of her chest. They were going to find out. She closed her eyes. No. They couldn't find out. Not like this.

She tried to subtly hide the embroidery behind her fingers and looked at her two friends.

"Look, I'm a bit tired. I think I'm going to head to bed."

"Already?" Ron asked.

"What about your homework?" Hermione questioned in an almost accusing tone of voice.

Haley bit her lips to keep herself from saying something rude. She was tired of the questions.

"They'll have to wait until tomorrow," she said, stifling a yawn, that came right on time.

"G'night," Haley added with a tiny smile and turned to walk toward the stairs, leading to the dorms before either of her friends had the chance to say anything else.

…

Haley tossed. And turned. And turned again. Then she sighed for the hundredth time. This was insane! Why couldn't she fall asleep, for Merlin's sake!

The curtains to her bed drew open all of a sudden.

"You're not having nightmares again, are you?" Hermione whispered worriedly.

Haley shook her head. "No," she whispered as soon as she had calmed down from the shock of her friend's sudden appearance.

"What is it then?" Hermione asked curiously, crawling onto the bed beside her. Haley sat up and rubbed her face.

"I..." she shook her head. As much as she wanted to she couldn't tell Hermione about the thing that kept her thoughts occupied. She had gone on a date with Draco Malfoy! She had kissed him! Well, technically _he_ had kissed _her_ but it came down to the same thing. Merlin! _Why_ had she done it? _Wh_ _at_ was she doing?

"Haley?"

Startled, she looked at her friend with wide eyes.

"Did something happen?" Hermione asked, worry evident in her voice now. Haley looked at her for a silent moment, contemplatively. Maybe she could voice her thoughts without dropping Malfoy's name.

"I always wondered..." she began, "You and Viktor… what was it like?"

Hermione frowned slightly. She probably hadn't expected that.

"You mean…" She trailed off. They had never really talked much about what had happened at the Yule Ball after all.

"I mean… Kissing him. What was it like? Why did you do it?" _How did you know it was the right thing?_ She wanted to add, but she felt like that would have been too revealing.

"Oh. Um..." Hermione seemed to think about the questions. Replaying memories in her mind that only she could see. "There was no reason why I shouldn't have, I guess," she answered thoughtfully.

Well, that helped Haley's case a lot. There were probably _a thousand_ reasons why she shouldn't have let Malfoy kiss her.

"Did you do it because you liked him? Because you had feelings for him? Or was it just attraction? Or because he's a famous Quidditch player?"

"Haley!" Hermione exclaimed, forgetting to whisper. Haley noticed that her friend's cheeks were turning pink.

"That's not – Merlin, what do you take me for? It just… felt right. There was this... atmosphere, you know," she added with a shrug. For a moment, Haley contemplated those words.

"He smiled at me," she continued with a glint in her eyes, "He has a really cute smile. There is a dimple on his right cheek." Hermione whispered fondly. Haley smiled at her friend. She got the feeling Hermione had been wanting to share those memories with her for some time.

Hermione bit her lips. The curious expression on her face told Haley that she was burning with questions of her own.

"So, you kissed him because of his cute smile?" Haley asked half-teasingly.

"Obviously not," Hermione protested, "Well, in part, maybe." She chuckled. It was nice to see her that carefree for once. Suddenly Haley felt sad for her.

"You must miss him," she offered in a sympathetic voice.

Hermione shook her head slowly, looking at her hands. "I – It's fine. We were never… I mean we definitely had a good time together but… it's been months since I last saw him and it's not like a few kisses made me believe we were in love or something."

There she was again. Hermione Granger, ever the rationalist. But… wait, what had she said just now?

"Was he bad at kissing?" Haley questioned, slightly confused.

Hermione chuckled. "Merlin, no. Kissing him was really nice, actually... It's just," she sighed, "Falling in love… it's not that easy," she concluded.

"But if you liked kissing him–"

"A lot of people kiss others just for the sake of it," she interrupted her almost harshly, "Kissing is something that just feels good, I guess. You don't need to be in love to enjoy it."

Haley simply watched her, surprised over her strong reaction.

"I'm not saying it always has to be like this," she conceded, "I'm sure there are also cases where a kiss is based on mutual affection." There was a wistful smile on her lips. Haley didn't know what made her talk this way. Did it have something to do with Viktor? But Haley couldn't imagine that.

"I think..." she began. "I think that Viktor genuinely liked you. He positively _adored_ you. It was obvious just from the way he looked at you."

"Maybe," Hermione whispered non-committally. The hopeful tint of her smile made Haley almost ignore the sting of guilt she felt toward Ron.

It was quiet for a moment. Each of the girls caught up in her own thoughts. Then Hermione turned to her with a hesitant expression on her face.

"Haley," she said in a tone that implied she had been wanting to say this the whole time, "Why are you asking me all this?" Haley swallowed nervously. Of course she had known this was going to come from the moment she had asked her first question. That didn't mean she knew how to answer, though.

"I – I… uh," she stuttered. _That_ was going well.

Hermione ended her pathetic stammering by taking hold of her hands. There was a slight pout on her face. Haley had the feeling it was due to the fact that she was being kept in the dark.

"It's okay," Hermione said encouragingly, "I won't judge you."

 _You wouldn't say that, if you knew who I went on a date with today,_ Haley thought. But what she said was a simple, "I know."

Hermione nodded impatiently, the expression on her face practically saying, _So?_ _Get on with it. I'm waiting._ _Spill._

Haley's heart was beating with a force that was almost she trust Hermione? Of course she could trust her! But was she ready for the accusations? The judging looks that were bound to follow her confession?

"I was… curious," she answered, trying for a casual tone. Hermione rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Obviously," she stated, "And what's the reason for your curiousity? Does it have something to do with what you really did in Hogsmeade today?"

Haley froze. So, Hermione hadn't believed Luna's story after all. This was bad.

"What… do you mean?" She asked cautiously.

"Oh come on, Haley. Do you expect me to believe you've been wandering around Hogsmeade all day looking for some shop that Loony Lovegood obviously made up?"

"I… Don't call her that," she said almost as an afterthought, "How do you even know it's made up?"

Hermione rolled her eyes once more. "Even if there was such a shop, not even you would spend a whole day looking around for it."

"We… didn't go around looking for it all day," Haley offered, not quite lying, "There were… other things."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Other things? What kind of other things?"

Haley shrugged. "The usual. There's not all that much you can do in Hogsmeade." Except for having a picnic with your former enemy. Or falling asleep beside your former enemy. Or kissing your former enemy. She felt heat rush to her cheeks at the thought. Hopefully it was too dark for Hermione to notice.

Hermione sighed. "Fine, I can't force you to tell me. I'll be here, when you're ready."

Haley heard the disappointment in her voice. She hated disappointing her. Hermione let go of her hands and turned to draw open the curtains, surrounding Haley's bed. Before she could draw them open completely Haley reflexively reached out a hand to stop her. It hadn't even been a conscious action.

"Wait," she whispered, causing her friend to turn back around.

 _Yes?_ Said the expression on her face.

Haley took a deep breath. "I really want to tell you, I do," she began. Hermione waited silently for the rest.

"But I hope you'll understand… that I can't."

"I – what?"

"At least not yet," she added. Hermione watched her silently for a moment.

"Why not?" She finally asked, her voice quiet. There was the pout again.

"I need to..." Haley chewed on her lower lip, looking for the right words, "I need to make sure first. That it's not a mistake. That I'm doing the right thing." It was hard to imagine a scenario where dating Malfoy would seem likethe _right thing_. Still, she was determined to figure it all out... Somehow. She needed to understand what this thing between the Slytherin and her meant. Whether it was worth the risk of ruining her friendship with Hermione and Ron over. She would tell them then. As soon as she had made sense of it all.

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean by 'mistake'?"

"I – It's just… it's complicated," Haley shrugged, "It might be a mistake… liking that person."

"Who said that? Who made you think it was a mistake?" She asked, sounding indignant.

Haley shook her head. "No one did. It wasn't necessary. I've known it from the start."

"Haley, I," Hermione paused, biting her lips, "I'm sure it's not. You know I never got why you were so caught up with Michael Corner but... this seems different. Whoever it is you're going through all that trouble for surely is not a mistake. If it's someone who genuinely likes you and makes you happy I wouldn't care if you dated Crabbe or Goyle or – I don't know... Moaning Myrtle."

Haley raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well, I'd be happy if it was someone with more brains and... well, alive," she conceded with a chuckle.

"So, as long as they are somewhat intelligent and not a ghost, you'll approve?" Haley asked only half-jokingly.

"Probably. And I also hope it's more than just attraction like it was with Michael."

"That wasn't just attraction!" Haley protested. But Hermione didn't seem to believe her.

"Sure," she said with an eye-roll, causing Haley to hit her playfully. Hermione evaded her attack with a grin.

"Seriously though," she whispered, "Are you happy?"

"I..." The truth was she didn't know. And she didn't want to lie either. "That's… what I'm trying to figure out," she admitted quietly.

Hermione watched her for a moment, before nodding once.

"Right. I hope it will work out for you. You deserve some happiness," she gave her hand a squeeze, "And don't forget to tell me once you've figured it all out."

"I will," Haley promised. Would she be able to keep that promise?

"All right. You should try to get some sleep. There's a mountain of homework waiting for you."

Haley groaned. Hermione drew the curtains open but before she could slip through them, Haley stopped her by calling her name.

"Hermione?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you," Haley whispered almost soundlessly, "For listening and… understanding."

Hermione smiled at her. "Of course. That's what friends are for, right?"

Haley nodded, smiling as well. Then she turned around and vanished through the curtains.

Haley was just starting to get comfortable, when her friend's head reappeared between the curtains.

There was a cheeky grin on her face. "I wonder _who_ you're going to _dream_ about tonight," she said mockingly, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive way.

" _Hermione_ ," Haley groaned, burying her face that was rapidly flaming up in her pillow.

With a last amused chuckle Hermione's face vanished once more and Haley heard her lying down in her own bed.

 _Yeah, that's what friends are for_ , she thought to herself, as she felt some of the anxiousness leave her. Maybe it was that easy. Maybe it would all work out in the end. And if not… well... she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

…

DRACO

Just thinking about her filled him with joy. It made him so happy that he almost forgot he already missed spending time with her. Looking at her, holding her hand. _Kissing_ her. That was kind of what he missed most but he would never admit it to anyone. Ever.

"Here," said someone with a rather high-pitched voice and simultaneously placed a roll of parchment in front of him.

"What's that?" Draco drawled in a bored tone.

"It's my potions essay," Pansy Parkinson informed him. "You promised, you'd look over it," she added in an accusing tone. Draco frowned. He didn't remember that.

"I did?" He asked sceptically, glancing at the essay quickly.

"Yes," Pansy stressed, pouting at him. "I really need my grades to be decent this year. Dad threatened to take away my collection of..."

Draco stopped listening. He couldn't care less about whatever it was that Pansy's father was threatening to take away from her. On the breakfast table beside her potion essay he had spotted a familiar name. _Haley Potter_. He shifted the essay slightly to the side to see what the words belonged to.

 _Witch Weekly_. They were printed onto the front page of a copy of _Witch Weekly_. Well in the left corner of the front page anyway. The full title was: _Haley Potter reveals: My ideal wizard._

What was that? Draco would lie if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit curious. He made sure Pansy wasn't looking – she was spreading jam on a slice of toast – and slipped the potions essay along with the magazine beneath it into his bag.

"I'll look over it before dinner," he told the girl as he reached for his cup of tea. A cup of Earl Gray was the best way to start the day.

"Thank you, Draco!" Pansy squealed and impulsively threw herself at him.

"Pansy! Are you daft? My tea!" Draco exclaimed, barely keeping the hot fluid from spilling all over them.

"Oops, sorry," the girl retorted – she didn't sound sorry at all – and extracted herself from him.

He glared at her in annoyance, before finally taking that first sip of his favourite morning drink.

He almost dropped the cup, shuddering at the bitter taste. He had allowed Pansy to distract him and forgotten to add sugar.

…

The article was located somewhere in the middle of the magazine, between hair styling tips and rules about what not to do on the first date. It was a tiny article that hardly justified an announcement on the front page. Draco glanced around left and right, making sure there was no student lurking behind one of the numerous bookshelves. He didn't want anyone to catch him reading _Witch Weekly_. Once he was sure he was alone, he giggled to himself in anticipation. Then he started to read.

 _ **Haley Potter reveals: My ideal wizard**_

 _In our exclusive interview with the famous Gryffindor, Haley Potter told us one or the other thing she secretly looks for in a guy._

 _Q: Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?_

 _A: Ravenclaw._

 _Q: Brave or clever?_

 _A: … Clever._

 _Q: Blue eyes or brown eyes?_

 _A: … Brown._

 _Q: Hair gel or off-the-broomstick style?_

 _A: Definitely off-the-broomstick style._

What kind of questions were those? The expression on Draco's face got darker with each answer he read. The questions seemed to be aimed at a particular Ravenclaw that Draco would love to never hear about or see again.

 _Q: Gentle or funny?_

 _A: (chuckles) Both?_

 _Q: Rich or poor?_

"What are you reading that for?" An all too familiar voice asked, while the article vanished from his sight.

"Hey, I was reading that," he argued mildly annoyed with the blonde girl that had found her way toward his table once again.

Luna Lovegood held the magazine in front of her face sceptically.

"Daddy says the people working for _Witch Weekly_ are not real journalists. They're getting paid for making up stories." She tilted her head to the side. "I thought everyone knew that."

"I _do_ know that," Draco answered haughtily, snatching back the magazine and shoving it carelessly into his bag. He did know he shouldn't believe any of it. In theory… But some parts of the 'interview' just wouldn't leave his mind. Like the parts about Potter's preferred hair style. It couldn't be completely made up, right?

Lovegood trained her round, blue eyes on him like she always did.

"Well, then," she said, pulling out the chair in front of her and sinking into the seat. Then she proceeded to ignore him, busying herself with whatever she had come here for.

Draco drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. He wanted to tell someone about his date with Haley the day before. And who was there to tell beside the girl currently ignoring him? But he didn't want to be the first to bring up the topic. He wanted her to ask him about it. He wasn't going to give in. No, he wasn't going to cave. He was going to stand his ground until she _begged_ him to stop with his drumming and give her all of the details. Only then he would graciously save her from dying of curiosity.

"You seem a little restless," Lovegood noted after a while.

Draco waited for her to say more but she seemed to be finished talking for the moment. He audibly cleared his throat to give her a subtle hint.

"Huh?" the girl looked up at him, seeming as if she had just woken up from a dream or something.

Draco sighed. It almost looked as though he would have to be the first to address the topic after all.

"So...Hogsmeade," he started, lifting an eyebrow meaningfully.

"Yes?" The blonde tilted her head to the side again.

He squinted his eyes at her. Was she doing this on purpose? She had to know exactly what he was hinting at. She wasn't that daft. He would give her another chance to ask him on her own.

"Your little meeting with Potter and her friends," he said, waving his hand dismissively, "was it good?"

Lovegood smiled absently. "Yes. It was… nice. They were all very… friendly. Well, most of them."

"And?" Draco asked impatiently.

Lovegood fixed her blue eyes on him once more. "I still can't tell you more about it. Sorry," she said in an apologetic tone. She sounded sincere at least. But the conversation was still not where he he wanted it to be.

"Why don't you ask the Lion Princess herself? I'm surprised you didn't ask her yesterday," she said in her usually dreamy voice. Draco almost didn't notice her subtle hinting at the date. He grinned triumphantly. Finally she had given in.

"Or perhaps," she added thoughtfully, "you weren't using your time for _talking_?"

Draco cursed his fair complexion as he felt heat rush to his face. Was she implying what he thought she was? But the girl always seemed so innocent, almost childishly so.

He opened his mouth, gaping in a way that was not at all appropriate for a Malfoy.

"It seems your date went well," Lovegood said, chuckling in amusement. The cheerful expression on her face really suited her well, Draco observed. Most of the time she seemed like she was far away, drawn into her own little world but the way her face crinkled up in amusement was really sweet. He had never really had a friend like her. All observant and a little quirky. If he was honest he had never had a real friend period.

But wait. Had he just referred to Luna Lovegood as a _friend_? When had his life started to turn upside down like this?

"So, when are you seeing her again?" Luna asked, there was a gleam in her eyes that seemed right-down smug.

"I… uh," he was at a loss of words. "Soon."

Lovegood raised an eyebrow at that. "You forgot to ask her?" She wondered.

"Of course I asked her! We simply haven't agreed on a day yet."

"I see," Lovegood said with a sceptical undertone.

Draco frowned. "Well, it's not like I can just go up to her and ask, is it?" He burst out in frustration. Lovegood tapped her chin thoughtfully, completely unfazed by his outburst. "You could write her a note," she suggested, "I could get it to her, if you want."

Draco considered her idea for a moment. He had already thought of something similar himself.

"Or I don't know you could hide it somewhere. Maybe inside a book? Or send a school owl?" Luna shrugged.

She was really trying to help him. Draco found that he appreciated that, although he wasn't sure he liked her ideas. Well, they were a hundred times better than anything Crabbe or Goyle would have come up with. He sighed, letting his forehead sink against his palm.

"Fine," he agreed, "What shall I write?" He looked at the Ravenclaw expectantly. But to his immense disappointment she gave him a look that clearly said, ' _I'm not your personal love letter writing house elf'_. Or something along those lines anyway. What did _he_ know? With an eyeroll he tore a page out of his journal, picked up his quill and started to write.

…

HALEY

"This doesn't make any sense without Hermione. What's taking her so long anyway?" Ron mumbled, as he frustratedly shoved his assignment for History of Magic away from him.

"It hasn't even been five minutes," Haley answered, "We could at least try to solve these questions without her." She stared down onto the blank parchment, quill in hand and willed the answers to pop up in her head. The first question was: _How many kings did_ _Melisandre_ _, the Red_ _Woman_ _, bewitch and why did she fail each time? Name her most favoured area of magic._

Ron glanced over toward her parchment sceptically. "Yeah? Did you take notes? Were you even listening to Binns?" He asked.

Haley looked away sheepishly. She hadn't been able to focus much today at all. She could barely stop herself from blushing at the thought of the person that had been wandering all over her mind.

She put her quill down and rested her chin in her palm. "Fine. Let's wait."

They had barely started on their assignments, when Hermione had declared she couldn't answer one of the questions without looking up a date Binns had mentioned in their fourth year. And being Hermione, she had of course kept her notes from all of their previous years and brought them with her to Hogwarts. It hadn't been more than five minutes since she had left to fetch her notes from their dorms. Naturally that resulted in Ron, dozing off on the table and Haley absently doodling on the margin of the parchment.

"Wouldn't sleeping in your beds be more comfortable?" Asked somebody curiously. The Gryffindors looked up almost at the same time. Luna Lovegood took a seat next to Haley and placed a huge pile of books on top of the table. The lowest was a book about… dragons? She could only see the last part of the title. Well, it didn't matter anyway.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked with a slight frown.

Luna looked at him for a second. Perhaps she was wondering how a person could be this impolite.

"You've got some drool on your chin," she informed him, not unkindly, before turning her eyes to Haley. "Did you find a room yet?" She asked, "For our secret organization?" She whispered the words 'secret organization' like they referred to an exciting mystery.

"It's not a secret organization," Ron said, sounding sort of disgruntled as he subtly rubbed over the corners of his mouth with his shirt sleeve.

"What is it then?" Luna asked, still sounding more curious than anything else.

Her direct question and her boring eyes seemed to startle him. "Uh, well…" He scratched his neck and his features turned into a boyish grin.

"Haley?" Ron turned to her for help. Haley shrugged. She didn't really care about the correct term for their little defence group at the moment. She was much more concerned with Luna's presence at their table. She liked Luna. She really did. But she didn't want her to still be here once Hermione came back. Not when Haley still didn't know how much the Ravenclaw knew about her and Malfoy. Or why she had decided to help her out yesterday. Regardless of the fact that her _help_ had possibly made Hermione even more suspicious than she had been before.

"We haven't found a room yet," Haley answered Luna's earlier question, "We're still looking but we'll let you know as soon as we find something, okay?" While she was trying not to sound too dismissive, she kept looking toward the entrance of the library in case Hermione returned. She bit her lips nervously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal your time. I'll wait for your message," Luna replied with a dreamy smile. She knew it. She had been too harsh.

Haley shook her head. "No-" she began to say but it was Ron, who continued her sentence.

"Don't worry. We're just lazing about anyway," he said with an easy grin.

"I can see that," Luna said, the beginning of a smile tugging at her lips. Haley's eyes flickered to the entrance once more. There was no sight of Hermione still. But this time Luna followed her gaze as well. She got up from the table and reached for her pile of books. "Good luck with your assignments," she encouraged them cheerfully and walked toward the back of the library. Haley sighed in relief. She really needed to have a talk with Luna. Without either of her two best friends present preferably.

"Didn't you say we should be nice to her?" Ron asked, slightly frowning at her. She… vaguely remembered saying something like that.

"I…did?" Haley offered. Since when did he remember things like these?

"You did," Ron insisted, nodding, "Ginny told me how her house mates treat her. It's not right. At least we, as members of the same secret organization, shouldn't treat her like that."

"Definitely," Haley agreed, nodding her head enthusiastically.

"You weren't exactly friendly though," Ron argued. What even? He was such a hypocrite!

"I'll be more friendly next time, promise," she said, trying to hide her exasperation. Why couldn't he let it go already? Hermione could be back any second now.

Her redheaded friend regarded her for a few seconds. Then he nodded once. "Okay," he said just as Haley spotted a mane of hazelnut brown hair make its way toward them.

"I found the notes I was looking for!" Hermione declared, "How far did you get?"

Her gaze wandered from Haley to Ron and finally lingered on their blank parchments. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I see. This really shouldn't be that surprising," she muttered taking the seat Luna had vacated only minutes before and spread out her notes over the table. Working on the assignment wasn't any more fun than it had been before but with Hermione present they at least got _something_ done. Hours later, after the last questions had been sufficiently answered, they finally set down their quills and closed the last book.

"Will you put these back," Hermione asked tiredly, nodding toward the books that were still left on the table.

"Sure," Haley answered. Hermione had done most of the brain work. It was only fair that Ron and her at least got rid of the books.

Hermione was piling up all of her notes in front of her when her eyes landed on something strange.

"What did you need that for?" She asked in a sceptical tone, gesturing toward a lone book on the opposite side of the table. _The Princess and the Dragon:_ _Letters written in Fire_ , said the title. What was that? Then Haley noticed something between the pages that didn't seem to belong there. A note. Then she remembered. It was one of the books Luna had brought with her. A picture made out of several little pieces slowly began to take form in her mind.

Almost instinctively she realised that Luna hadn't come to their table solely to find out whether they had found a room yet. She had left the book on the table deliberately. She was somehow connected to Malfoy. _Dragon_ stood for _Draco_ and the subtitle was _Letters written in Fire_. He was trying to send her a message. Through that book. And now Hermione had noticed, too! Why hadn't she noticed the book sooner?

"Oh. Wasn't that already here, when we arrived?" Haley asked innocently, as she grabbed the book and put it on top of her pile.

"Was it?" Hermione frowned, "Well, it doesn't matter anyway," She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "It's really time to go to bed now."

Phew. She hadn't seen the note. Haley was about to turn when Ron's voice called back, "Wait. There's something stuck between the pages."

Damn it. "What?" She almost squeaked.

"There," Ron repeated, pointing toward the suspicious book. Why was he this observant today? What was wrong with him?

"Oh that?" Haley said, trying to sound surprised. She balanced the pile of books against her hip and fished out the note with her free hand. At least it was folded. With slightly shaking fingers she opened the note and let her eyes flick over it quickly. She recognised the writing at once. But there was no time to go over the meaning now. First she needed to convince her friends that it wasn't anything important.

"It's just some note. Seems like the person jotted down their thoughts while reading or something," she mumbled, in a hopefully convincing tone. Clearing her throat nervously, she slipped the note back between the pages and finally turned around. The skeptical gazes she felt on her back, while marching further into the library, were positively burning a hole through her skin. She put the books back into their shelves at record speed, not daring to linger longer than necessary as not to raise her friends' suspicions. With the note hidden inside her sleeve she quickly returned to their table. On their way back to Gryffindor Tower no one mentioned the book or the piece of paper again.

…

Thanks to Dobby, they had finally found a room for their defence meetings. Now, the question was _when_ they were going to meet.

"I really don't see any other option. That's the only evening, where none of the houses have Quidditch or any other clubs," Hermione was telling Haley and Ron in a hushed voice as they exited the green house. It was a rainy Wednesday and Angelina had cancelled their Quidditch training due to the bad weather. Haley frowned. Wednesday…

"We should quickly inform everyone that we're going to have the first meeting today," Hemione continued, "Or are you not okay with that? Is there something else you wanted to do tonight?" She asked Haley curiously. Actually… there was something else. The image of the note she had found inside _The Princess and the Dragon_ was floating before her inner eye.

 _If you're free on Wednesday, meet me at the old willow by the lake after dinner._

There had been no address, no signature. _Less suspicious_ , Haley thought. It was a good thing, she was able to recognise Malfoy's writing by now. She had meant to tell him that she had Quidditch training on Wednesday but she hadn't been able to think of a way that was discreet enough. After Angelina had cancelled their training she had thought for a short moment that she would be able to make it after all. But looking at the way Hermione was reasoning there really was nothing she could do or say.

"No, it's fine. Let's do it today," Haley agreed. She was actually kind of looking forward to their first real meeting. And like Hermione said it was important that they learned to defend themselves. Still, she somehow had to let Malfoy know that she couldn't meet him tonight. Then she saw it. A blond head of hair emerging from one of the other green houses. Luna Lovegood.

"Isn't that Luna?" Ron asked, obviously having spotted the girl as well, "We can go over and tell her about the meeting!"

"Wait. Don't you think it would look suspicious if all of us headed over there at once?" Hermione argued. That was Haley's chance!

"I'll do it," she volunteered.

"But-" she heard Ron protest, but she had already started to walk in the direction of the other green house.

"Hi Luna," the Gryffindor greeted cheerfully, "How was Herbology?"

"Oh! Hello, Haley!" The blonde said with a smile, "We learned about Singing Grass today. It was really interesting! Did you know that there is a flute made of Singing Grass that produces a sound similar to the human voice if you play it?"

"Really? I didn't know that. That's fascinating. But – uhm… so I wanted to ask you something," Haley said, trying to steer the conversation toward the topic she wanted to talk about.

"What is it?" Luna asked, her big blue eyes shining with curiosity.

How did she start? She cleared her throat nervously. "Uhm.. so.. _The Princess and the Dragon_ … You didn't leave that book on our table by accident, did you?"

"No, I didn't," she answered without hesitating. Haley waited for her to say more but it seemed Luna was doing the same.

Haley cleared her throat again. "So… uhm there was… a note inside the book..."

Luna nodded.

"Do you know… who it's from?"

She nodded again. There was no judgement in her eyes. Haley again wondered how she was related to Malfoy.

"Could – could you – uhm – I mean… could you tell him something… from me?" Why was she this nervous all of a sudden? Perhaps it was because Luna _knew_ … something at least.

Luna smiled at that. "Of course," she answered cheerfully. The girl's honest enthusiasm made it hard for Haley not to trust her. And she really didn't have a reason to doubt her. She was a member of her defence group after all. And she was friends with Ginny. And she was one of the few people that believed her story about Voldemort's return. It was highly unlikely that it was all an evil ploy to... well to what? Sabotage her? Harm her? Gain her trust and then betray her? The more she thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded in her head.

"I won't be able to make it tonight," she said, "But I'm free tomorrow night so if that's okay with him, we could meet then." Haley was sure she was blushing furiously. She felt weirdly exposed, saying all that. "Could you… tell him that?"

"Sure," the Ravenclaw answered, still smiling softly.

"Okay." Haley audibly exhaled in relief. "Well then..." Now that she had done what she had come here for she didn't know what else to say.

"I think your friends are waiting for you," Luna informed her. Haley suppressed the urge to turn around and check for herself. It would seem rather suspicious if she did that.

"Right! I should-" then she remembered about their meeting tonight, "Oh, I almost forgot. We're having our first meeting tonight!"

"Oh!" Luna's eyes lit up with excitement over the news, "You found a room?"

"Yeah, actually. Uhm, do you know the tapestry of that wizard who's trying to teach trolls ballet? It's on the seventh floor and there's a room on the opposite side of it."

"Oh, yes, I know that room. But why do we need a room full of shoes? It's not even a big room."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all fit in there," she said with a chuckle, "Some people call it the Room of Requirement or the Come and Go Room."

"That's the Come and Go Room?" Luna asked, recognition in her voice.

"You've heard of it before?"

"Mum used to tell me all about it when I was younger," there was a faraway look on the girl's face, "But she never got to tell me where it was."

Haley felt a sudden rush of sympathy for Luna. She was able to see the Thestrals, too.

"So, you know where to find it?" She asked softly.

Luna nodded.

"Great. See you at eight then," she said, sending her a half-smile. She turned to go but Luna's voice made her turn back around.

"Haley?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for trusting me," she said, reaching for Haley's hand and squeezing her fingers gently.

A warm feeling surfaced within her at the sight of Luna's happy face. She had done the right thing after all.

"Of course," she answered, her voice sounding unusually sincere. Somehow she felt like she had just made a friend.

"Did you tell her?" Hermione asked as soon as she had arrived back at her friends' side.

Haley nodded, leading the way toward the castle. "How many more to go?"

As Hermione went through the people that had signed their list on Saturday, Haley noticed Ron staring at her from the side. Huh?

"I was perfectly friendly today, don't worry," she told him.

"Right," he muttered but his eyebrows were knitted together as if he was pondering something. She looked at Hermione, who had a thoughtful expression on her face but didn't say anything more either. Had she missed something? Were they fighting over something again? She really hoped it wasn't anything major that would end up with her two best friends ignoring each other for weeks again.

She decided not to worry about it for now. She was nervous enough about their first real defence-against-useless-Umbridge meeting tonight. And tomorrow… she had a date. She didn't even try to fight the smile that was slowly beginning to form on her face.

…

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! So, this chapter was all about friendship! I originally wanted to also include the date but the chapter just went on and on and on so... you'll get the date next time. And let me tell you... it will start to get a bit angsty... I kind of feel like Luna is trying to take over this fic. Or is that just me?  
As always, thank you for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Feather


	11. Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning

**11 – Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning**

HALEY

For the hundredth time Haley checked whether her cloak was covering her properly. It was just past dinner, so there was plenty time before curfew but she still didn't want anyone to notice her. Would people see her from the castle? Well, they couldn't because of her Invisibility Cloak. But if she weren't hiding beneath it?

She had reached the lake now. All that was left to do was find the willow Malfoy had mentioned in the note. There were still lots of leaves on the trees although they had mostly turned brown now. A few metres to her right Haley spotted a person leaning against a willow tree. It was a boy with suspiciously white blond hair, who was tapping his foot to the ground impatiently. Was she that late? Instead of walking faster she slowed her steps in an attempt to make as little noise as possible. This reminded her oddly of that one time in third year when she had snuck into Hogsmeade and thrown mud balls at Malfoy and his unsuspecting friends. Wouldn't it be fun to re-enact that particular memory? Scooping up a handful of fallen leaves she slowly walked closer until she was almost directly in front of him. If she took one more step she would be able to touch him. Just one more step and then – _cru_ _nc_ _h_.

She had stepped right into a heap of dried leaves that were making crinkling sounds underneath her shoes.

Malfoy's head snapped up in surprise. "Who's there?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice. Damn. So much for attacking him with a bundle of dry leaves.

"Who's there?" He repeated impatiently. But something had captured Haley's attention that she found more interesting than giving him an answer. She had been too focused on trying to be quiet before but now she noticed that something was different. Had Malfoy's hair always been this long? Well, she couldn't have known because there had always been tons of gel keeping it hidden. But now… it was framing his pale face, softening his features and coming to rest somewhere between his chin and his ears. It looked really soft and with a blush she realised that she found the Slytherin surprisingly cute like this.

...

DRACO

He seriously felt like a fool. Was he imagining things or was it just a ghost playing tricks on him?

"Who is _there_?" He asked for the third time without getting an answer. And what was taking Potter so long anyway? He wasn't too early, was he?

There wasn't any more noise from the ghost or whatever it was. Maybe it had just been the wind or an animal or something. But then why did it feel as if someone was watching him? This was more than a tad unsettling. Was he going insane?

A thought was inkling at the back of Draco's mind. No, it was a distant memory actually. It had been during a visit to Hogsmeade… where suddenly out of nowhere something – or someone had thrown mud at him, Crabbe and Goyle. He had thought it was a ghost at first but then… there had been Potter's head floating in mid-air.

Right. This was the answer. Either she was able to cast a _d_ _i_ _sillusionment_ _ch_ _arm_ on herself or… she somehow got her hands on an Invisibility Cloak. Since she had only been a third year back then he suspected it was the latter. Well, there was one way to find out once and for all. Carefully, as not to poke out an eye or something, he reached out his hand, feeling only air until… his fingers touched some sort of silky material. One good yank was enough to reveal the Gryffindor he had been waiting for the whole time.

She blinked up at him out of confused green eyes. Her glasses were slightly askew – which was probably his fault for yanking off her cloak so forcefully – and her short hair was up in a small ponytail. In combination with the faint blush on her cheeks it gave her an adorably rumpled look that made it almost impossible for Draco not to grab her and kiss her until they were both breathless.

But sadly for him it seemed Potter had different plans.

"Give that back," she mumbled, reaching for her cloak and swiftly throwing it over herself again.

"I'm not really a fan of talking to air," Draco muttered with a slight pout. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being made fun of.

"I just don't want anyone to see us," Potter's voice said from somewhere in front of him. See us _together,_ he thought sourly. That had gone unsaid. Great. He had been so happy to finally see her again but it didn't seem like she was happy to see him at all.

"This spot can't be seen from the castle. I already checked," he muttered. It was true. He had gone all the way up the astronomy tower and made sure to choose a spot that wouldn't be visible from there.

"Really?"

Draco rolled his eyes, feeling somewhat annoyed. "I mean even if someone saw us they wouldn't be able to make out more than two dark spots in the distance."

"I guess you're right," she admitted thoughtfully. But she was still not taking off her cloak. It was slowly driving him nuts.

...

HALEY

She didn't know why she was hesitating. Or maybe she did know but it was hard to admit it. Hidden under her Invisibility Cloak she could watch the boy all she wanted without having to fear being caught. Did she like him? As a friend? Or as more than that? She wasn't sure. Didn't know what to call that prickling feeling that arose every time she saw him. It was so different from anything she had felt before.

Malfoy scowled. It was oddly reassuring to see that he could still scowl at her. Softly chuckling at the sight, she took off the cloak. The scowl turned into something more soft instantly.

"Come along then," Malfoy muttered, and not a second later tugged her toward the other side of the tree. Above them in the treetops Haley spotted the umbrella from last time. It was just floating there gently among the branches.

"You brought your umbrella," she noted in a questioning voice.

"I told you, it's not an umbrella it's a time ma-"

"Yeah, yeah I know. A time machine."

Malfoy glared at her almost as if he knew she was trying to rile him up on purpose. With a look above he made sure that they were standing directly beneath the opened umbrella and pushed the button near the handle. Then he whispered something too quietly for her to understand and with a flash of light their surroundings disappeared.

When Haley opened her eyes – she had closed them due to the bright light – the lake and the castle grounds were gone. Instead she found herself in a small meadow surrounded by tall trees. The sun was painting the colourful leaves around them in golden colours and with a start she realised that this was the place in Hogsmeade where they had spent the afternoon only a few days before.

"Woah, it really worked," she said, her voice sounding kind of awed. She hadn't really believed what Malfoy had said about his 'time machine' until now.

"Obviously," the Slytherin said smugly but she had the impression that her reaction pleased him.

"Did we really travel in time? I mean, what do they see in Hogwarts now?" She wondered, still looking around curiously.

"Nothing," Malfoy whispered, coming up next to her, "We're in Hogsmeade now. Five days ago to be precise."

"Huh." How weird. She took a step forward, itching to explore her surroundings. But a hand on her arm stopped her.

"The magic only works as long as we stay within the vicinity of the umbrella."

Haley stepped back. "What happens if we're too far away from it?"

Malfoy shrugged. "You're back at Hogwarts. I think," he added after a second.

"You think?"

"It's also possible that we'll be trapped in some kind of magic void or something. I don't know. I never tried it, okay?"

All at once her sense for adventure kicked in. She would certainly not try that out now but… she filed away the information for later. She turned toward Malfoy, unsure what was supposed to happen now. His eyes were already trained on her. Had he been watching her the whole time? The moment seemed fragile. Intimate.

Then something shifted in his eyes and he lifted an eyebrow before lettting his eyes wander all over her from head to toe. For a moment they lingered on her mint green shirt that she had chosen especially because of the way it made her eyes shine. In a gesture of self-consciousness Haley crossed her arms across her chest. To be fair he wasn't staring at her chest like a creep but the gazing still made her uncomfortable. No one had ever just looked at her like that. Like she was someone to look at. Like she was maybe even pretty. She felt her face heat up. And when Malfoy's eyes went up to her face again his pale cheeks were reddening as well. It was strangely sweet.

Clearing his throat, he turned around to where a blanket had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and sat down on one end of it, gesturing for Haley to do the same.

As the girl slowly sat down, he cleared his throat once more and looked at his hands.

"So… that's quite an impressive cloak you've got there," he noted finally.

"Oh. Uhm... yeah… Thanks, I guess," she offered, reaching for her cloak that was lying on the ground a few inches away. She had dropped it during their time travel but luckily it had travelled along with them.

Hastily, she stuffed it into the shoulder bag she had brought, all the while feeling Malfoy's eyes following her movements. He was clearly curious about it. But for some reason he was hesitant to ask. She wondered how much she should tell him.

"I – It's an heirloom, actually," she explained. And wasn't it odd that Malfoy had used the same words so frequently while telling her about his own curious possessions? She grinned.

The Slytherin snorted. "How very funny, Potter," he scoffed, "I know how rare these are. I bet, you got it from Dumbledore or… perhaps you stole it." He raised an eyebrow at her, silently challenging her to deny it.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Well, it _was_ Dumbledore who gave it to me but… it really is an heirloom. It's… It belonged to my dad," she said quietly, all amusement gone.

She didn't know if she was saying too much. Surely it was okay to share that information with him?

Malfoy opened his mouth as if to say something but after a moment he closed it again. "I see," he answered finally, not meeting her eyes. Haley got the feeling that Malfoy wasn't good with comforting people. Not that she needed to be comforted but when she had mentioned her deceased mum on the weekend he had seemed uncomfortable as well. He probably hadn't lost someone he loved yet. So, of course it was hard to relate to. Haley remembered talking to Luna about her deceased mum only yesterday. It hadn't been awkward or uncomfortable at all. Perhaps death was one of the things you could only really relate to once you have been confronted with it yourself.

Anyway, this wasn't really a good topic for a second date, was it? But then what could she…

Right. Luna. She had wanted to ask Malfoy about her. It was overdue, really.

"Um… how do you know – I mean… since when are you friends with Luna Lovegood?" Haley felt kind of stupid for asking that. It seemed like something she shouldn't have to ask. Something she should already know.

...

DRACO

 _Luna who?,_ Draco wanted to ask but he wasn't that much of a jerk. Not any more. Still, that didn't stop the feeling of panic that was creeping up inside him. It was true that he enjoyed Lovegood's company. Kind of. Sometimes. And he might have admitted to himself that they were friends. Sort of. But that didn't mean he was ready to go around and tell everyone else about it. _But this isn't_ someone _. This is_ Potter. Which was exactly why he couldn't tell her. What would she think of him if she knew he was friends with a girl that was commonly referred to as 'Loony'?

"W-why would you think I'm friends with _her_?" He asked. After all he couldn't pretend not to know the Ravenclaw at all.

Potter rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid," she informed him, "She was the one who delivered your message to me, for one."

Draco squinted his eyes slightly at her. "That doesn't make her my friend though. I could have threatened her… or blackmailed her even." Well, that sounded reasonable enough to his ears.

"You could have," Potter noted, nodding in agreement. Draco relaxed at once.

"But I don't think you did." _What?_ "Do you mean to tell me that it was your idea to hide your note inside a book called _'The Princess and the Dragon'_?"

Well, damn. What was he supposed to say now? "I – well, why not?" He argued petulantly.

Almost reflexively he crossed his arms in front of his chest. But he wasn't pouting. Or maybe he was just a little bit.

Haley chuckled. And it sounded musical and lovely. But… he had to focus. _Focus._ The battle wasn't won yet.

She snorted. "Say what you want about the book… when I talked to Luna yesterday it didn't seem like she was forced into anything. It was quite the opposite really. She seemed happy to help and… I think she definitely considers you her friend. I don't think she has all that many but you probably know that, don't you."

He was silent for a moment. Thinking about her words. She didn't seem weirded out about the whole friendship thing.

"It's odd but the more I think about it I think the two of you make really good friends." She smiled. And it was so genuine and encouraging that he found himself distractedly nodding along with her words.

"Don't hurt her though. If you do I'll have to hurt you." There was a stern expression in her eyes now but she was still softly smiling despite it. A part of him that didn't find this whole conversation terribly ridiculous wanted to smile back and assure her that he wasn't intending to hurt his _friend_. But the other part – that was slightly more selfish and wanted her to focus her attention on him solely – rolled his eyes and snorted dismissively.

"It's not like I'm looking for your approval to _date_ her, obviously," he drawled, glancing at the girl briefly, curious about her reaction to that. He wasn't hoping she would say something like _'That would be stupid, since I'm the one dating you'_. Or anything like that. He wasn't that stupid. Potter would never say something like that. He sighed.

"I just don't want her to get hurt, I guess," she replied with a shrug. It hurt more than it should have. The girl's careless remark about how much of a villain she thought he was. Did she think he would betray his friends at the first chance he got? Did she think he would betray _her_? Was he that kind of person? He might have been once. But he _was_ trying to change, wasn't he?

He looked away, feeling slightly miffed. His gaze landed on Potter's bag. He nodded at it questioningly.

"What did you bring that for? Did you think I would bore you to death?" He asked, sounding more self-pitying than he had intended. What was wrong with him? He was on a date with Potter for Merlin's sake. He should be happy. Elated. But it was hard with how much effort he was putting into this while the Gryfindor seemed to appreciate none of it. Or if she did she didn't show it.

"Oh, that's just – well, Hermione caught me sneaking out and she said if I insist on going on secret dates I shouldn't let my grades suffer because of it. So I… kind of brought my… homework," she admitted sheepishly. What. Potter brought her homework? Then something in her words registered.

"Wait. Are you saying that the mu – muggleborn knows we're on a date?"

Potter glared at him. "She's got a name, you know. And well – she knows I'm on a date but she doesn't know who I'm with." That made sense at least. If her friends only suspected their precious golden girl was so much as smiling at him or holding his hand he would have been faced with at least a dozen threats to his life by now.

"So... are you planning to tell her?" He asked cautiously.

Potter's eyes widened considerably. Did the mere thought of telling someone about their date seem this absurd to her?

She bit her lips. "N–Not yet."

"Hm," was all he said in response. He had expected as much. So, there was really no need to feel even a hint of disappointment at her admission.

It was awkwardly silent after that. He looked at his hands. From the corner of his eye he could tell she was looking away as well. There were countless unsaid thoughts and questions floating around them. But neither of them was brave enough to give voice to any of their doubts. Perhaps the time wasn't right. Yet.

The longer the silence lasted the more uncomfortable it became. As if to mirror the pensive atmosphere, the sun that had been shining brightly was now shrouded by dark clouds, that were taking away all the sunshine. Draco sighed. He was doing that a lot today. His gaze fell onto Potter's bag again. A couple of books were close to falling out of it.

"So," he said with a playful grin, "What kind of assignment is so important that it can't wait until tomorrow?"

Potter looked up at him, seemingly surprised by the question that had come so out of the blue.

"Well, we got an assignment for Charms. But that shouldn't be too hard. And," she paused, crossing her arms. Draco lifted an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. "And there's that essay for Snape, I haven't quite finished," she admitted, pouting slightly.

He lifted the other eyebrow as well. "Quite?" He asked, grinning in amusement.

"Fine," Potter huffed, "I haven't started it. Happy?" Draco chuckled quietly. Happy didn't quite cover it. She didn't seem to know how positively endearing her childish defensiveness was. Or what it was doing to him. What _she_ was doing to him. To his heart that was so hopelessly gone for her.

"I could help if you want," he suggested, surprising himself, "It's not like there's much else for me to do anyway. We don't want your grades to suffer after all," he added with a smirk. It was kind of hypocritical of him, seeing as he hadn't cared much for his own studies lately. He found his mind occupied with other things more and more frequently, making it hard to concentrate. Well, he was sure Snape wouldn't mind too much if he didn't hand in _one_ essay. Aside from that he was one of the best students in their year. It should be okay for him to slack off for once in his life.

...

HALEY

When Malfoy had offered to help her, Haley hadn't expected him to actually mean it. But here she was scribbling her potions essay about the side effects of the _strenghtening_ _solution_ while the boy in question read the passages he deemed useful to her. It was no secret that Haley was rubbish at Potions. And although Haley had expected him to tease her about it mercilessly he seemed to keep his jokes to a minimum. Overall it was surprisingly comfortable doing her homework with Malfoy. For one, he was much more patient than Hermione and unlike the Gryffindor he wasn't as adamant that she find the solution on her own like her friend always insisted on. In fact, the whole final paragraph of her essay was an exact transcript of the passage Malfoy had so conveniently summed up for her. Setting down her quill at last, Haley wondered why he was helping her so readily. He wasn't setting her up, was he?

With a small satisfied grin the Slytherin closed the potions book and dropped it next to her bag. He stretched his arms over his head and looked at her expectantly. Haley glanced over at the book, suddenly suspicious. Maybe she should check whether the boy hadn't completely made up the last passage. Just to be sure. She grabbed the book and flipped the pages toward the chapter dealing with _strengthening_ _solutions_.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked confusedly, "It's done."

"Yeah, I just… just want to check something," she replied, scanning over the words quickly. Before she could read more than a few sentences the book was snatched out of her hands.

"Hey! What are you-?" She began to ask but she got distracted by the head of hair that had fallen into her lap where only seconds before the book had been. She threw her hands up in surprise at the sight of the boy who was so calmly resting his head on her legs. Spread out on his back he grinned up at her lazily like this was something he did every day.

"Enough work for today," he drawled, "I want to do something a bit more pleasant now. You do remember this is a date, right?"

Haley swallowed nervously. What did he mean by _pleasant?_

"What do you think you're – you – you can't just–" Great. Now she couldn't even form a coherent sentence anymore.

Malfoy chuckled softly. She saw his eyes gleam with amusement for a second before he closed them. It was almost too perfect the way a sunbeam fell across his face, tinting his blond hair with warm glints of gold. She realised not for the first time, that she liked looking at him when he couldn't look back. Like now, with his eyes closed and his features soft and relaxed. He didn't seem like Malfoy at all. In that moment he was just a boy. A rather cute one, she had to admit. And his hair looked so soft… Would it seem too forward if she reached out and touched it?

Almost as if he had heard her thoughts Malfoy re-opened his eyes making her hand that had moved on its own stop in mid-air. It fell to the blanket near Malfoy's head but judging from his raised eyebrow he had already seen it and made the connection. Feeling suddenly exposed, Haley cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away. She was acutely aware of how furiously her heart was beating. Could he hear it, too?

"You know," Malfoy said slowly, "about that massage you promised me last time..."

What? Haley abruptly turned her head to him. "Promise? I never promised anything like that," she protested.

The Slytherin narrowed his eyes slightly. "But you did," he argued, before reconsidering his words. "Well, even if you didn't, I practically wrote that essay for you. I think I deserve something in return, don't you?"

Haley snorted incredulously. He had thought that through pretty well.

Malfoy ran his hand through his hair in a way that seemed positively inviting. Hesitantly, she lifted her hand, letting it hover next to the boy's face. In a quick move, he grabbed it and gently placed it in his hair. Haley made a surprised sound.

"It's so soft," she blurted out, before she could stop herself.

"Do you like it?" Malfoy smirked up at her. His hand was still resting on top of her own.

"I…" She trailed off, shrugging.

"The hair gel was getting tiresome, you know. Don't think I changed my style because of you or anything." He said in a rather bored tone.

Haley frowned. "Why would you change it because of me?" She asked. As a matter of fact, she did like his hair much better without the gel. (It made his features look softer and more... friendly somehow.) But she wasn't about to admit that out loud.

The boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But… the interview…"

"What interview?" She questioned, equally confused.

Malfoy watched her for a moment, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. Then he looked away.

"Nevermind," he said with a snort, muttering something to himself that sounded like 'Witch Weekly' and 'should have known'. How peculiar.

With him facing away from her, Haley found her fingers combing through the blond strands of hair almost on their own accord. Malfoy's eyes had closed and he was humming softly. He seemed so content. Next thing she knew he was going to start purring like a cat. Haley shook her head, over the absurdity and grinned softly. From this angle his features were kind of blurred. She could easily pretend that he was just… someone. Someone she could let herself enjoy being with. Not her enemy. It was almost too easy. She wondered if that was why Malfoy kept his eyes closed. Did he imagine she was just some… faceless girl? Was he pretending all of the animosity between the two of them had never existed in the first place? As she ran her hands through his hair she noticed that it was just about long enough to be pulled into a small ponytail. She grinned at that.

"What's that?" Malfoy asked nodding his head in the general direction of Haley's school bag.

"Huh?"

"That." The Slytherin reached for the quill that lay on top of her finished essay and held it in front of his face curiously.

"A quill," She answered curtly. She had to fight the urge to snatch it out of the boy's hand in annoyance. It was the quill Sirius had given her.

"Oh really," he drawled, lifting an eyebrow, "Are you sure it's not a miniature broomstick?"

Haley rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault he was asking stupid questions.

"Fine," Malfoy sighed, seemingly realising that she wasn't in the mood for jokes. "It seems… to hold a special meaning for you… Was it a present?" He asked in a casual tone.

She took the quill from his hands and carefully checked if the midnight blue feather was undamaged.

"Yeah," she answered quietly, "I got it from my godfather."

Malfoy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Sirius Black," she added, "I'm sure you've heard of him." Malfoy sat up but didn't say anything. He sat down opposite her, leaning his back against the tree and pulling up one of his legs.

"Well, everyone knows him, I guess," Haley offered with a shrug, "but only a few people know he's my godfather. Or that he's innocent."

She didn't know why she had said that. Perhaps she wanted to find out how much Malfoy actually knew? After all, she didn't know in how much detail the Malfoy's talked about Death Eater matters at home.

"Did you know that?" She asked, watching him closely and wondering how he might react. His hair looked funny. The way it was sticking up from his head now.

"I… suspected," he answered. He didn't clarify what he suspected in particular. She assumed it was the latter.

"Well. It would be nice if everyone knew," she said almost wistfully.

"You seem… close. I mean it must be difficult, sending gifts while you're on the run." He noted thoughtfully.

"That's true. But since he's not on the run any more–" She stopped, suddenly afraid she had said too much. What was she thinking, telling him all of these details?

"He's not?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Um, no – I mean – yes – I mean – I shouldn't have – I…" Damn. How could she have been this thoughtless?

"It's fine," Malfoy interrupted her stammering. "I didn't – I didn't meant to pry." Suddenly it seemed as if they were walking on thin ice. Both of them treading carefully as not to break it.

"I – I wasn't implying – I mean – I–" She stammered, searching for the right words.

"No – I understand. You don't – you don't trust me."

He sounded positively defeated as he said that. Haley realised with a start that she didn't like the tone of his voice at all. She wanted to contradict him, to assure him that it wasn't true. That she did trust him. But she also didn't want to lie to him.

"Look, I don't think you're spying on me or anything. But I can't just… you know…" She finished lamely, waving around with her hands vaguely in an attempt to make him understand what she couldn't properly put into words.

"Yes, well… I didn't expect you to – It's… probably better that way," he muttered darkly.

It was quiet for a moment. Neither of them knowing quite how to continue from there. There suddenly was so much distance between them. It felt more daunting than it had before, towering higher with each thought and doubt they kept to themselves, unspoken. Perhaps it was time to be brave enough to give them a voice.

Haley took a deep breath. There was one thing she had been wanting to ask for a while.

"You keep saying that you… um – that you… care about… me," she started, trying to ignore the heat that was rushing to her face at those words, "And I'm starting to believe that you are but… I've been wondering… how much have you thought about it?"

...

DRÄICO

Draco wasn't sure he understood the question. How much had he thought about _what_? About her? Or being with her? He hadn't exactly counted but he knew the hours spent thinking about her amounted to an embarrassingly high number.

"What… do you mean?" He asked slowly, cautiously.

"Well, you know… _this_ …" Potter answered, waving her hand between him and her vaguely, "and… the future."

Draco froze. A sudden coldness had crept into his bones at her words. He had hoped she wouldn't bring up this particular topic so soon. He had hoped he would have more time to prepare and… ideally find a solution first.

"I mean how serious can this be if it all comes down to us fighting on two opposite sides of a war in the end?" She didn't say that in a particularly cruel or uncaring manner but she might as well have. On a rational level, Draco understood that they needed to talk about this. That they couldn't just pretend they hadn't been enemies for the better part of the last five years. But what he heard underneath the words was her doubt. She was doubting _him._ His feelings, his sincerity. Funny, considering that he had never been this serious about anything in his life before. It wasn't surprising really, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"I don't think this is the right moment to talk about this," he muttered, his lips pursing together slightly.

Potter stared at him incredulously. Nevertheless, she seemed strangely determined. "Great," she said with a sarcastic undertone, "You want to talk about the weather, then?"

Had the topic of their conversation not been that unpleasant Draco might have laughed. He had always liked her sarcastic side.

As it was, he merely rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Fine," he grit out, "Let's talk about how this relationship was doomed before it even started."

Potter sighed in frustration. Perhaps that had been a bit melodramatic but he wasn't going to apologize for that. He had every reason to be a tad dramatic.

"Listen," she said in an appeasing tone, "If it's true… that a war is coming… wouldn't it be nice if we could stand on the same side? I mean, did you ever think about... changing sides?"

Draco did not believe this. Of course the idea sounded nice but did she even think about the consequences her suggestion entailed?

"It's not that easy," he answered, sounding much more patient than he felt.

"Why not?" Asked the Gryffindor impatiently, "I could talk to Dumbledore about it and then–"

"And then what?" He interrupted her hotly, "You think he'd help me? Me? A Slytherin? A Malfoy?"

"Why not?" Potter questioned again, "I'd convince him. I know I could." Her eyes, steely with determination were a stark contrast to the fact that she had practically said she didn't trust him only minutes before. This was ridiculous.

"He'd probably think you were under a spell if nothing else," he scoffed.

"But – I – that's not true!" She protested, her voice cracking with indignation. How much of a Gryffindor she was. ' _That's not true!_ _'_ Did she also plan on telling him that it wasn't fair?

He ran his hand down his face, sighing. "Say, you convince him," he offered, "What then? Is he going to help my family, too? My mother? My father?" He paused to glance at her sceptically. She didn't look so determined now. She said nothing. Of course she hadn't thought that far.

"And if not," he continued in a more quiet voice, "should I just abandon them? Should I do that?"

His words were dripping with sarcasm. Potter was shaking her head almost absently. Perhaps that was enough to make her drop the topic now.

"But… couldn't you talk to them? They're… well they're your parents. They won't disown you or anything, right?"

He chuckled. Although he mostly didn't find it funny. He could almost imagine that conversation. Him telling his father over dinner that he was planning on running away with the Chosen One. Why would his father disown him for that? He was their only son after all. But if he was honest he wasn't sure that little fact would be enough to stop him.

"They might," he admitted quietly, "I've thought about this until I almost went mad and… at some point... I gave up. It's actually the reason I've been so mean to you at the start of term. Because it was all too complicated… and I just didn't know… and it was easier pretending… I hated you."

She seemed to be taking that in, while watching him thoughtfully. "But… you're here now. Why?"

"You know why," he replied vaguely. It was too embarrassing to admit it out loud. To admit that he simply hadn't been able to stay away from her. She looked away. Perhaps she felt embarrassed as well.

"So, what's your plan? You must have had a plan," she pondered, "You're not the kind of person to just… barge into a lion den without coming up with a strategy first."

Draco couldn't help but snort because of her choice of words. Well, she was right. He wasn't that kind of person. He rarely did anything without knowing where he would end up or what he could gain from a situation. Usually he avoided uncomfortable or dangerous situations before he even got involved in them. This wasn't him at all. So, why was he treading on such an uncertain path when he had no idea where it would lead him in the end?

The answer was surprisingly uncomplicated. This endlessly irritating girl with her green eyes had somehow touched something deep inside his heart and turned him into a fool with too many feelings. He liked her. Cared about her. Might even be in love with her. And apparently that was enough to make him disregard all the voices in his head, telling him to be careful and that he was behaving in a way that could only be described as reckless and stupid.

"To be honest," he admitted, "I don't have a plan… yet."

Potter blinked. Obviously she hadn't expected that. It looked rather cute.

"You're kidding… right?" She asked, sounding uncertain. Draco shook his head.

"But – this is is ridiculous! You're – I mean – you're the one who asked me out! You can't just do that and not think about the consequences–"

"I have thought about the consequences!" He interrupted her hotly.

"Well, obviously you didn't think hard enough!"

Draco's hand twitched. He had to stop himself from actually reaching for his wand and doing something really stupid. He tore out tufts of grass instead. _She doesn't know better_ , he told himself. _She doesn't know how complicated all of this is_. _It's all black and_ _white_ _to_ _her_.

"You have no idea what you're–"

"I don't know how much you've thought about it but – I don't understand how you could just stop." He hated the look she was giving him. It was filled with disappointment and the kind of resignation that you feel for someone you kind of already expected to let you down. It made him incredibly angry.

"Fine! What do you want me to do? Follow your advice and join Dumbledore? And if not – if I can't leave my family behind – will that be it then? Will it mean this is over?" He hadn't meant to say all that. The words had just poured from his mouth, along with his pent-up anger and frustration. No matter how much her answer frightened him, he couldn't take it back.

If nothing else, Potter seemed surprised. She shook her head in silent protest, her eyes extremely wide.

"That's not what I meant – I just – I – this is not…" She took a breath to calm herself down, "I'm not telling you to either make a decision now or... or get lost." She sounded genuine at least. Draco released a shaky breath, he hadn't realised he had been holding.

"What… what are you doing then?" He asked, feeling weak and defeated.

Potter shrugged. "I just… I wanted you to know that… you have a choice," her voice was hesitant. Hesitant but hopeful. "I wanted to show you… there could be another… option. And I was hoping… that you would at least… consider it."

Those words somehow got to him. Their genuine simplicity and the obvious intent behind them. The almost naive hope that was also mirrored in those impossibly emerald green eyes. It was her innocently pure and stubborn belief that there was a choice. That you didn't always have to do what was expected of you. That maybe there was something good in him, too. Potter did care about him. It hadn't seemed that way before but now… Why else would she be that invested in the matter? The realisation awakened a dangerous hope inside him and caused him to say something he wasn't sure he wouldn't regret later on.

"Okay. I'll… consider it."

...

HALEY

"Really?" Haley asked in disbelief. He nodded.

This was… unexpected. One second the boy was vehemently rejecting her suggestions and refusing to even think about them and now… he just agreed? She didn't really understand what his problem was in the first place. She hadn't asked him to betray his family or anything. All she had done was ask what his plans for the future were. Well, more or less that.

"But I do have a condition," Malfoy added in a tone that suggested she wouldn't quite like what was going to come next.

"A condition," Haley echoed sceptically.

"Yes," He confirmed, sitting up straighter, "You have to do the same."

Haley frowned. Did he mean…? "What do you mean – why would I have to consider joining Dumbledore – unless..." she broke off, watching how the Slytherin's eyebrow was raised in an almost challenging way. No, that couldn't be…

"You want me to join _bloody Voldemort_?" She blurted out, completely thrown. Malfoy visibly flinched at the force of her words. He quickly regained his posture, though, never looking away from her.

"You can't do that? Can't even consider it?" He asked provocatively.

Was that boy insane? Did he know what he was suggesting right now?

"Of course not!" She hissed, "I don't know if you forgot but that man is a crazy lunatic _and_ he killed my parents!" She was feeling too hot all of a sudden and her breath was coming too fast.

"I'm not saying what he did was right. I just – I'm trying to make you understand that it's not that easy. You can't just make that kind of decision over night."

"I know that! I get it. You're trying to-"

"No, Potter. I don't think you get it-"

"Just stop it! There's no way you're going to talk me into thinking, becoming a Death Eater is the same as fighting for Dumbledore!"

"I wasn't saying that-"

"Yes you were. But you're wrong! I do understand you can't make such a decision over night but that's… those are two completely different matters!"

"Are they?"

"Of course they are! Voldemort is a crazy lunatic and – he's evil!"

"So you're telling me Dumbledore is completely sane."

She hesitated. But only for a second. "Who cares if he's a little crazy. At least he's not evil."

"How do you know that?"

"Are you being an idiot on purpose or-"

"I'm serious. How can you know that? How can you trust him?"

 _He means that. He actually means that_ , Haley realised, taken aback.  
"Well I," she thought about it for a moment, "I just do. I have to." She added quietly. If she couldn't trust Dumbledore… she didn't even want to think about what that would mean.

Malfoy sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he scooted closer to her. Haley wanted to move away but there was something in his eyes that made her stay where she was.

He glanced over at her hand, that was clenched to a tight fist on top of the blanket. He lifted his own hand as if he wanted to reach out and touch her but in the end he let it sink to the grass.

"You know," he began in a soft voice, barely above a whisper, "Evil… and good…" He lowered his eyes to the blanket. "The bad guys never call themselves the bad guys. Most of the time they are convinced they're doing the right thing."

She didn't understand where he was going with this. Was he talking about himself right now? "What are you trying to-?"

Suddenly he looked up, something urgent in his gaze, "Do you know why the good ones always win?" He asked, sounding like he was actually curious what she thought about this. Haley furrowed her brows.

"It's because the ones who lose… they never get to write the stories. Nobody ever hears their side of the story," he muttered almost to himself, while he looked at something to the side. It had started to rain. Just like it had back in Hogsmeade.

She watched him absently sink his fingers into the grass, as she thought about his words another time. It kind of made sense. But…

"That doesn't mean I'm going to consider becoming a Death Eater," she stated. He couldn't seriously think she would do that!

Malfoy chuckled. "I didn't think you would."

"Then why-?"

"I just wanted you to see… that it's not that easy. It's not an easy decision."

"I know that," she argued impatiently. She wasn't stupid.

Malfoy turned to look at her again. There was a daisy in his hand. "But now you also understand it… right?" He asked.

"I think I do," she agreed, "Kind of." She still thought his whole 'there is no good and evil' speech had been over the top and unnecessarily melodramatic. But it reminded her of something she needed to ask him. She had been wondering about that for some time now.

"You don't actually think it's right… what Voldemort does… do you?" She asked hesitantly. It seemed really important how he was going to answer that. She didn't know what she was going to do if Malfoy said he thought it _was_ right.

"Does it matter?" He asked in a casual tone, his eyes trained on the daisy he was playing around with. Haley felt like she was being tested somehow.

"Yes," she whispered, almost tonelessly.

Malfoy chuckled. Then he steadily met her gaze. "Right, wrong... evil, good," he said offhandedly, "A Slytherin does not really care about those." He slowly shook his head. "We care about staying alive and… keeping our families alive."

His tone was playful but his words… they told a different story. Did that mean he would do what his family wanted no matter what? Was it more important for him what his family believed than to do what was right?

"Is… is that your answer then?" She asked. Why did she sound so disappointed?

Malfoy smirked at her. "I believe I already gave you my answer. I said I'd consider it, didn't I?"

Oh. Right. He had said that.

"And now let's talk about something else," he suggested in a tone that didn't leave much room for arguing.

"But-" Before she could even say another word, she found her mouth full of leaves and petals.

"Hey what are you-" She sputtered, trying to remove the flower Malfoy had stuck into her mouth.

"You were about to argue. I was preventing you from doing that." He said nonchalantly, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

"You're unbelievable," she said in annoyance, after having finally removed the last petal from her tongue.

"I'm taking that as a compliment," he drawled lazily. There was an amused grin on his face. "Shame, though. This might have looked better in your hair."

Haley growled, which only seemed to amuse the boy more. She didn't know what to make of this sudden mood change. Somehow being with Malfoy, felt like she was on a roller coaster of emotions. She turned her head to the side, watching the falling rain for a short while.

"How can you just..." She began, shaking her head slowly, looking for the right words. "just… not think about all of this?" She made a vague gesture with her hand, to clarify what she meant by 'all of this'.

Malfoy seemed to think about that. Then he said, "I am thinking about it. Constantly."

Haley turned to look at him again. "Then what-"

"But sometimes," he interrupted her, "I'm doing my best to ignore it because there are things that are more important." He whispered that last part. Was he talking about her? He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. Was he going to kiss her? She glanced at his lips briefly, realising that she wanted him to kiss her. She looked back into his eyes that were shining silvery and with a hint of blue. They seemed so steady, so sure like he exactly knew what it was that he wanted. But she still didn't know what it was that _she_ wanted. Whether she only liked kissing him because of the _kissing_ or whether she liked it because it was _him_ she kissed.

Shouldn't she make sense of that before she kissed him again?

Malfoy lifted his hand and placed something in between her hair and her glasses. She blindly reached for the thing, tugging it out of her hair. It was a daisy. She hadn't even noticed Malfoy had picked another one.

"It looked weird on you anyway," he muttered, eyes trained on the flower.

This was her chance to avoid the kissing dilemma. She reached for her bag, using it as a shield between them and stuffed everything that was still lying on the blanket or in the grass into it.

...

DRACO

Draco cursed his stupid mouth. He shouldn't have said that. Why had he said that?

"What are you doing?" He asked, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. Did she want to leave already?

"On the other side…" Potter mused, "Has the time continued on without us or did it stop?"

"What?" He asked perplexed.

"At Hogwarts, I mean. Did the time stop or–"

"Oh, that." He shrugged. "I'm not sure. It could be either."

"You don't know?" She asked. Draco tried not to roll his eyes. That was what he had said, wasn't it?

"In that case, I think, it's best if we headed back, don't you?" She suggested. And without waiting for an answer the girl got up and walked into the rain. Just like that. But as soon as she had taken more than two steps away from the umbrella she vanished into thin air. Draco was reminded once again why he had an aversion to Gryffindors. They were stupid and reckless and always acted without thinking about the consequences. Hadn't he said earlier that it was possible she would end up in a void if she just stepped outside of their confined time zone like that?

He surprised himself by hesitating for only a split second before he got up and ran after her.

The first thing he noticed was the darkness. It wasn't black exactly but it was considerably darker than it had been seconds before. And It wasn't raining either. Something to his left fell into the grass with a soft _clonk_ but Draco's attention was focused on the girl standing there with her back to him. He angrily stalked around her until he was standing right in front of her.

"Why do you always have to be so thoughtless?" He asked, glaring at her.

"What?"

"I told you this could be dangerous but you didn't listen because apparently Gryffindors aren't only recklessly stupid but they also have a death wish."

"But it wasn't dangerous. We're back in Hogwarts, aren't we?"

"But you didn't know that. You didn't think. And one day when you're not so lucky this is going to get you killed!"

"Excuse me?"

He was being irrational he knew that. But the mere thought that something could happen to Haley made him mad with a worry he hadn't known he could feel before. The first time he had felt it had been the previous year when he had seen her fighting that giant killing machine of a dragon. And then during the Second Task. And again when she had vanished from the maze together with Diggory. He really didn't want to get used to this feeling.

Haley just watched him for a quiet moment, seemingly looking right at everything that was hidden below the surface. Maybe she realised that he hadn't said that to provoke her but that there was a different intention behind his words.

"It's okay," she said softly, reassuringly, "See. Nothing happened." She slowly reached for his hand, enveloping his fingers in pleasant warmth. It calmed him down somewhat. He really liked holding her hand. Her hands were always so warm.

"What's wrong? Why are you so – I don't know…on edge?"

He was not _on edge_. He was just…

"It's because I like-"

 _Holy_ _snake_ _s_ , he had almost blurted it out! Just like that! He felt his eyes widen. But at least he wasn't gaping like a fish.

"W-what?" Potter asked. Her slight stutter told him, the words made her nervous as well. Was this a good sign? He took a deep breath. Perhaps he should just tell her. She had to know it by now anyway. He might as well say it.

"I really… like…" His heart was beating like mad and everything he saw was Potter's stupidly green eyes. He had to focus on something else or he was never going to say it. His eyes landed on her shiny mint green shirt that was practically glowing in the moon light. It made her eyes shine even brighter. He swallowed nervously.

"I really really like you–your shirt," he blurted finally. Which was not at all what he had intended to say. Well, it was too late to take it back now.

...

HALEY

Haley blinked. Had she heard that right?

"My shirt? Are you sure that's what you wanted to tell me? You like my shirt?"

Malfoy nodded in a way that seemed too forced to be convincing.

Haley chuckled softly. "Do you want me to lend it to you?"

"No! I mean, I – um… it brings out your eyes?" He said it like it was a question.

"Was that a question?" She questioned, not bothering to hide her amusement.

Malfoy tsked, shaking his head. "Here I am complimenting you and how do you thank me? With mockery."

"I just… thought you were going to say something else," she mumbled, biting her lips nervously.

For a moment there, she had thought he was going to actually say that he _liked_ her. She was about ninety per cent sure that he liked her. It was strange how he was expressing his feelings in so many different ways like actions or looks or his behaviour but he had never straight out said that he _liked_ her. Something had to be holding him back… Perhaps he was afraid that she didn't reciprocate his feelings. Maybe he was waiting for a sign that she did. If so… he would have to prepare himself to wait for another while.

Malfoy shook his head. He was blushing. "No," he insisted.

She should just leave it at that. Seriously. "You're sure?" She asked instead, giving him one more chance to confess his feelings.

There was hesitancy in the boy's eyes. Only the hint of it. But it was there.

Then he nodded. "Yes," he said, lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Okay," she whispered then, feeling slightly disappointed for some reason. She looked at her feet.

"I just… I wanted to end this night on a lighter note…" he said after what felt like several minutes.

"So, you didn't mean it after all?" Haley asked in mock offense.

Malfoy looked up in surprise, "No, that's not what I…" he broke off, noticing her cheeky grin.

"You're making fun of me," Malfoy dead-panned, squinting his eyes at her in annoyance.

Haley just shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't help it. Messing with you is too–" She started to say but she didn't get to finish her sentence. Because Malfoy had grabbed her face and cut her off with a kiss. It didn't last more than a few seconds. She hadn't even had the time to close her eyes before the boy pulled back.

"Merlin, Potter, you're infuriating." There was an intense look in his eyes that seemed a little wild but he was smiling despite his words. The smile was reaching his eyes and Haley felt something flutter inside her stomach at the sight. She liked seeing him smile like this. Liked it a lot. And she liked kissing him. Maybe that was enough? His thumb stroked over her cheek gently before he leaned in to kiss her again. Softly… but with an underlying passion that made her think he had been wanting to kiss her all day. Haley closed her eyes and stopped to think. As two arms made their way around her waist and pulled her closer, her own arms came up to rest on the boy's shoulders almost on their own accord.

For once she didn't want to think about what would happen after. She didn't want to think about the fact that they were at Hogwarts, visible to anyone that happened to take a walk at night. She didn't want to think about everyone's reactions if they ever found out she was dating the son of a Death Eater. She didn't want to think about the possibility that she might one day have to fight against the boy in who's arms she felt warm and light. She couldn't. Although she knew she should.

But then she would have to stop. And she didn't want that.

So Haley stopped to think. And instead let herself enjoy being kissed by Draco Malfoy. Two figures in the night, almost invisible against the dark moonlit sky.

…

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, I took forever again. But look at that! It's a chapter that's 9,700 words long! The longest chapter I wrote to this day. Impressive, huh? I think it's one of my favourites :) Fun fact: There was this one scene where Haley and Draco were fighting that reminded me so much of Ygritte and Jon Snow and I wanted to use the line "You know nothing, Jon Snow!" so bad but I couldn't because well... it wouldn't have worked as well as it does for Ygritte... But I still think Draco should have just said it. "You know nothing, _Haley Potter!"_

So, as always leave me your thoughts and I hope you have as much fun reading as I'm having writing this :)

Title is inspired from the awesome song "Simple and Clean" by the amazing Utada Hikaru.

Till next time, Feather :)


	12. Under Stars

**12 – Under Stars**

HALEY

The night air was cold. But the quiet surrounding the astronomy tower was peaceful. Haley pulled her warm cloak tighter around her. She was glad she had thought of bringing it.

"Are you cold?" The voice of Draco Malfoy asked lowly from her right. She had almost forgotten he was there. They had been sitting there on the edge of the Astronomy tower, looking out across the school grounds below them for a while. It seemed surreal that she could sit there next to the Slytherin and appreciate the silence of the peaceful night.

"No," she whispered almost soundlessly. His gaze lingered on her thick cloak for a moment before he looked away again. The silky robes he was wearing didn't look too warm.

"Why did we have to meet out here in the cold again?" He muttered, frowning slightly.

"You were the one who said it was suspicious if we kept meeting at the same spot. Besides, you wanted to check something on your moon chart, remember?" She reminded him.

Malfoy scoffed. "But it's December! Surely, we could have found a different place? Something indoors? Where it's warm?" He argued, completely ignoring her second statement.

Haley rolled her eyes. "It's not that cold. At least it isn't snowing yet."

He eyed her cloak once more. Almost making a show of it. She knew it was petty but somehow she couldn't just offer her cloak to him. She wanted him to ask. She wondered how long it would take until he asked.

"Maybe we can find an empty classroom next time," she added as an afterthought.

"Next time?" He echoed. His voice sounded surprisingly interested now. She saw him looking at her from the corners of her eyes. "You know… it's not long until Christmas break now."

He was right. Christmas was only three weeks away. It was already December. The last weeks had gone by so fast, it seemed like time had begun to pass twice as fast. Still, it wasn't all that surprising with all the school work the fifth years had to do. On top of that there was Quidditch and the secret DA meetings, which hadn't really given Haley much time to pause and revel at how many weeks had passed by. The little time she did have was mostly spent doing homework or going to see Hagrid or spending time with her friends. Malfoy, she had seen only in class, in the Great Hall or occasionally on the school grounds. It hadn't bothered her too much, since she still wasn't sure how she felt about him. But when Luna had slipped her a note from the boy, saying he wanted to meet up it had filled her with nervous excitement and she had agreed to come. Which is how the two of them ended up sitting on the edge of the astronomy tower on a cold winter night.

...

DRACO

Draco waited. But Potter didn't seem to get the hint. She was just staring out into the night as if there was something extraordinary about it. Why wasn't she looking at _him_ like that? Well, it was no use. He needed to know. _What are your plans for Christmas?_ Should he ask it like that? It was simple enough and she could just give him an answer without him having to reveal anything first. Like how he planned to stay at Hogwarts, too, in case she wasn't leaving. And how much time he had spent fantasizing about all the things they could do when the castle was almost empty and they weren't busy with school and homework all the time. He really hoped she would stay.

"So, um… are you going to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays?" Draco asked in a casual tone. He hadn't meant to ask that directly but perhaps it was for the best. There was no room for misunderstandings at least.

Potter turned to look at him. Finally. Surprise was written all over her face.

"I don't know." She seemed to think about it. "Probably not."

"Oh." He tried not to show how disappointed he was. "Well, I probably won't be here either," he replied almost petulantly. Was she going to stay with the Weasel? Or was she going to stay somewhere else? He was a tad curious but if she wasn't going to offer up the information herself, he wasn't going to ask. She would probably think he asked to spy on her or something like that.

...

HALEY

He wasn't asking where she was going to spend Christmas. To be honest, she didn't even know herself yet. But it would be nice if she could spend it with Sirius and everyone else. Malfoy seemed to be nervous about something. His fingers were tapping against his leg restlessly and he kept glancing over at her like… he was waiting for something? But what could he be waiting for? Was he going to steal her cloak? Well, she had to admit that it wasn't all that cold any more, now that the wind had receded.

"So..." Malfoy started to say eventually, "What's on your Christmas list?"

"Hm?" She hadn't expected something that _trivial_.

"You know… that list you make so everyone else knows what to get you for Christmas," he explained to her in a tone that made her feel _really_ stupid.

"I know what a Christmas list is," she bit back with a glare. Malfoy simply raised his eyebrows at her mockingly and smirked in that way that used to make her blood boil. Now, she found it only mildly annoying.

"I'm impressed," Malfoy, the git he was, replied sounding unbearably amused.

"You're such a-" Haley stopped herself before she said something she might regret later. She watched him closely while looking for the right words. The smirk looked slightly forced and it seemed almost like something else was hiding behind the amusement in his eyes. She noticed his fingers that were playing around with the seams of his robes now. Those were definitely signs of nervousness. This was interesting. The expression on Malfoy's face and the movements of his hands seemed to completely contradict each other. Haley filed that information away for later. Now, she wanted to find out what the boy was anxious about.

"Why were you asking in the first place?" She asked, curiously.

"I don't know. For what possible reason might I have asked such a question?" He asked in return. He wasn't looking at her, but she could practically hear him roll his eyes.

"Were you planning… on getting me something for Christmas?" She asked, straight to the point. She didn't have the patience tonight for beating around the bush.

"I-I" He spluttered, turning to look at her with a start. He probably hadn't expected her to get straight to it.

"I wasn't – well, I-I…" Where was the cocky smirk now? The blush that was starting to colour his cheeks made Haley grin. She could barely stop herself from snorting loudly. She liked that she could turn the Slytherin into this bumbling, blushing boy. It felt exhilarating. And she didn't even have to do much.

Malfoy took a deep breath and seemed to get a grip on his composure again.

"I was merely asking out of politeness. You know, hypothetically speaking. If I wanted to get you a present…" He looked up into the night sky, pensively. "What would you like?"

It was really sweet the way he was trying to pretend this didn't matter to him when it was obvious how much thought he had put into it.

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "I never really got many presents so…"

"There's nothing that you want?" He asked incredulously, like she had just told him she hated Quidditch or something equally upsetting. He pulled up his leg, which had been dangling from the edge, and turned his body halfway toward her.

Well, it wasn't completely true. There was something she wanted. But she doubted he could clear her godfather's name or get rid of Umbridge for her.

So she shrugged again. "Not really," she mumbled softly.

Malfoy's eyebrows were knit together so closely they seemed like one white blond line.

"Fine," he replied with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair that was free of gel once more. He had worn it like that a few times over the past weeks.

"What about you?" Malfoy asked after a moment.

"What about me?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Aren't you curious about _my_ list?"

"Wait, you seriously have a Christmas list? How old are you, four?" Haley teased him. She couldn't help it. It was a reflex almost.

"Very funny, Potter," Malfoy growled, squinting his eyes at her. "How else am I supposed to let people know what to get me?"

"I don't know… You could let them surprise you," she suggested.

The Slytherin frowned. "But what if I get something I don't like?" He asked, sounding honestly confused. That boy really was ridiculous.

"You're right! What a tragedy that would be!" She remarked sarcastically. It was so easy to make fun of him in this playful way. It seemed almost natural. Effortless. And she liked it much better than the hurtful insults and jabs that had been their form of communication before. Malfoy on the other hand didn't seem to share her amusement if the dark look he was shooting her was any indication. It hadn't been too much, had it?

...

DRACO

If anyone one else had talked to him in that manner, Draco would have hexed them without hesitating even for a second. But for some deluded reason that was beyond him the girl's remarks amused him. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside at the thought that she was comfortable enough with him to tease him like that. Not maliciously but somehow… in such a familiar and friendly way.

It didn't mean he had to show her that though. Instead he scowled at her and narrowed his eyes.

"You're awfully bold today," he drawled, lifting an eyebrow. "You're not planning on throwing me off the tower and getting rid of me, are you?" He stared into her eyes intensely, unconsciously leaning closer until he could even count the lashes that framed her green irises.

Haley shook her head, slowly. Seemingly taken aback at the sudden proximity. Draco noticed her licking her lips and it took all of his self-control not to grab her face and press his own against them. He leaned backwards, creating a safe distance between them again. He had a point to make here. He couldn't let himself get distracted. There was a flicker of surprise flashing across the girl's face. Or perhaps it was disappointment. Draco told himself it was disappointment. Back to the point, Draco!

"So..." he began, studying his fingernails absently. His fingers were paler than usual. They were as cold as icicles. He really should have worn something warmer. "you don't want to know what's on my list?"

Potter snorted. "Not necessarily. I mean, it's not all that hard to guess, really."

Draco shot her a sceptical look. She shrugged. She did that a lot, he noticed.

"It's either something incredibly expensive or… a really dark and evil artefact that can only be found at Nocturne Alley."

He glared at her in annoyance. She was really pushing it today.

"Careful Potter, you don't-"

"Oh! I know." She interrupted him, something was glinting in her eyes. Was that mirth?

"What now, Potter?" He wasn't whining. Absolutely not.

"I know what you want." She replied excitedly.

What? Where in Merlin's name was she going with this?

He waited for an answer but the girl wasn't answering. She simply kept grinning at him. Then she opened the clasp that was holding her cloak together and removed it from her shoulders. Draco froze. His heart beat sped up considerably. Why was she undressing herself? Did she-? Did she want to-? Did she think this was what he wanted? Right here on top of the astronomy tower? His cheeks felt uncomfortably hot all of a sudden.

Then the world went dark. And his face was covered by something heavy and soft. He reached for the cloth that was covering his face and pulled it off him. It was Haley's cloak. Draco wouldn't complain if the earth decided to swallow him up right this moment.

...

HALEY

She had come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to ask on his own. Maybe he thought that she was cold and that's why he didn't ask. But as much as she enjoyed teasing the Slytherin, she didn't want him to actually freeze to death. So she offered him her thick woolen cloak. Well… she threw her cloak at him more than offering it. But the result was the same. After pulling the cloth off him Malfoy blinked at her, seemingly confused and shocked and also… embarassed? But why? Because she had thrown her cloak at him?

"Well, put it on," she prompted him, after a moment of silence.

"Why would I want your cloak, Potter?" He mumbled without looking at her. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Because you're obviously freezing," she explained, before adding, "And in case you freeze to death I don't want people to think I was the one who killed you."

Malfoy snorted at that. "Oh please, like you could as much as hurt a fly."

"Fine. Give it back then," She replied holding out her hand.

Malfoy hesitated. "I'm not cold," he said but while he was saying the words a visible shiver went through him.

"Knew it," the Gryffindor commented, lifting one eyebrow. The boy still didn't move. What was he waiting for, now? Was he embarrassed that she caught him lying?

In a quick move, Haley snatched her cloak from the boy's fingers and sloppily draped it over his shoulders. She blamed the late hour for her lack of patience.

...

DRACO

All of a sudden he was surrounded by pleasant warmth and a foreign smell. Well, not that foreign. He had smelled the fragrance before… Unconsciously, he took a deep breath. He smelled the soap the house elves used to clean the laundry with. But also… something else. Something flowery and also… something that reminded him of owl treats. It shouldn't have smelled as good as it did. It was her. Haley. It was her fragrance. He pulled the cloth tighter around his shoulders absently. Then he noticed that he was being watched. His fingers froze where they were holding onto the fabric. Looking up, he realised it was just Potter. Well, not _just_ Potter. The Gryffindor was never _just_ anything. The look on her face was positively gleeful or… no she looked definitely smug.

He scowled. He didn't like people looking at him like that. But apparently Potter wasn't done taunting him.

"See, this is why _sensible_ people wear warm clothes when it's cold outside," she mocked him. Ah. That was a jab at his silk robes. Draco had to admit that they weren't exactly warm but they were really soft. And he looked handsome in them. Potter herself was wearing a pair of loose muggle pants and a dark green wool jumper that looked like it was selfmade. And also oddly similar to those tasteless jumpers that her Weasley friends always wore.

"Funny, for a second I thought you sounded like my mother," Draco replied dryly. Why was the thought of his mother entering his head now? He didn't want to think about his mother when he was on a date. And really, this wasn't something his mother would have said in the first place.

"Do _sensible_ people also give away their clothes when it's cold?" He added in a bored tone. What he really wanted to ask was whether she was cold now that she didn't have her cloak any more. But of course, he couldn't ask her in such a direct manner.

"Don't worry," Potter replied. "My jumper might not be made of silk but at least it's really warm." _And scratchy,_ he imagined. Had his question been really that obvious? Or was she simply able to see right through his mask of indifference?

"Who said I was worried?" He questioned, trying not to show his relief. "And besides there's nothing wrong with wearing silk robes. I wouldn't expect you to understand that." Draco remarked, while he pulled the cloak tighter around him, nestling into it. It was really warm. And it smelled _so_ nice.

The only thing that was slightly irking him was the smug grin that had reappeared on Potter's lips. At least she didn't seem to be freezing. That was good. She could have given the cloak to him sooner, really. Wait… _why_ hadn't she given it to him sooner? He squinted his eyes at her, suddenly suspicious. "So, you knew I was cold the whole time and you happily watched me suffer?"

The girl had the audacity to shrug. "Well, I wouldn't say _happily_ but… old habits die hard, I guess."

He was scandalised. Well, well, well. Who would have thought the golden girl was holding grudges?

"Is this some kind of belated payback?" He scoffed. "Are you sure you're not actually a Slytherin?"

Potter rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but ended up biting her lips instead. It almost seemed like she was hiding something she wasn't sure whether to tell him. Well, he had enough of her mocking. To some extent it was enjoyable. Not the mocking part but… the banter. It seemed almost friendly. But… would it kill the girl to actually give him the impression that she only slightly liked spending time with him? _If_ that was the case. Which Draco had not an inkling on. She was almost better at hiding her emotions than him! Or perhaps it was because she wasn't feeling anything? He sighed, placing his hands on the ground next to him and looking up into the night sky.

Then he felt a surprisingly warm touch on his hand. He didn't have to check to know what it was. His skin seemed to remember the feeling of Haley's small but warm hand and his fingers curled up to greet it almost reflexively. She chuckled in a way that made him think she found his reaction amusing. He had to admit that it was a tad pathetic. But that didn't bother him enough for him to pull his hand away and go without her touch. Not when it made his skin tingle as if a thousand little ants were crawling up and down his arm.

...

HALEY

Honestly, she felt a bit bad about letting Malfoy suffer in the cold. And then also telling him she had done it intentionally. Maybe she had crossed a line there. There was a frown around his mouth as he looked up into the sky. But what could she say to make it disappear? Did she even want it to disappear? Before she could try to come up with an answer to either of these questions her hand had reached out toward him almost on its own accord. The boy seemed slightly startled by her touch but even so, he didn't hesitate to turn his hand over and take hold of her own. His eagerness made Haley chuckle softly. It was kind of cute how he seemed to refuse to look at her.

"You know… your hands are really cold," she found herself whispering after a moment of silence.

That made Malfoy finally turn to her. "Obviously," he scoffed. "It's December, isn't it?"

"I've noticed it before, though." She replied sheepishly. She was aware of how her words drew attention to the fact that she had held Draco Malfoy's hand often enough to know about his usual skin temperature.

The Slytherin squinted his eyes at her. "So?" He asked in a rather bored tone.

"Well… I've read about… some… _people_ with cold skin," She answered hesitantly. It was a good thing she hadn't said _creatures_ instead of _people_.

"People?"

She nodded. "People and… you know… well... vampires." She didn't know why she had said it. Of course, she didn't actually think Malfoy was a vampire. She had just wanted to lighten up the mood or… something. But she certainly hadn't expected him to react like this. Apart from the crease between his eyebrows the expression on his face seemed frozen. What was he thinking? Haley was just about to ask him exactly that when the boy seemed to come back to life. He chuckled once. Then he smirked at her in a way that could only be described as roguish. "So, you've finally discovered my dark secret, haven't you?"

What?

The Slytherin pulled up his other leg as well and knelt down next to her, leaning into her personal space. "I actually lured you here to suck all the blood from you and cast your dead body off the astronomy tower."

He was kidding… right?

"Come on, do you really think I'd believe this rubbish?"

"I don't know… you tell me," he drawled lazily, while he lifted her hand and slowly ran his fingers across her skin, following the path of her artery. If this was a joke Haley really didn't find it funny at all. Now he was even raising her wrist to his lips… like he wanted to bite her...

"Stop that," she muttered in annoyance and tried to pull her hand free. He didn't let her.

"Let go!" She pulled once more, this time so forcefully that she fell onto her back, pulling the Slytherin right along with her.

He blinked down at her in surprise, his elbows resting left and right from her face. Then the smirk was back again.

"Are you scared?" He asked, while pushing dark locks out of her eyes. She shook her head violently. There was no reason to be scared. He was just messing with her. There was no way she wouldn't have noticed that Malfoy was a vampire. Haley ignored her heart that was madly beating in her chest. Did Malfoy actually feel it?

"You're not actually a vampire, right? You were just kidding?" She bit her tongue but it was too late. The words were already out. Malfoy stared at her for a long moment that seemed to span several minutes. Then, finally, he broke out into loud, roaring laughter. A wave of relief washed over her. Of course, it had been a stupid joke. She was such a fool. He rolled off her and lay down on his back next to her. She wanted to scowl at him but his laughter sounded so carefree and light that she smiled softly instead.

"I think you'd have noticed if I was a vampire," the boy mumbled, still chuckling slightly. "Honestly Potter, just because my hands are a little cold? Did you pay attention during Defence Against the Dark Arts at all?"

Haley pouted. Defence Against the Dark Arts was her best subject!

"It wasn't just that! Your… your skin is also incredibly pale."

"So?" He asked, sounding awfully smug. "Did you ever actually see me suck someone's blood?"

"Well.. no but… you could have done it in secret," she replied stubbornly, rolling onto her side to face him. He didn't say anything in reply. Surprisingly. He simply watched her. The smug grin on his face was changing into something softer. His grey eyes were glimmering, all warmth and playfulness. She liked him that way. It made her almost forget that he had just made a major fool out of her. Almost. Quickly, Haley lifted her left hand and placed her fingers on Malfoy's chin. Then she pulled open his mouth and pushed his upper lip upwards. His canines were a bit pointy but they seemed like regular teeth.

"What are you doing, Potter?" The Slytherin drawled, sounding slightly disconcerted. He bit his teeth together, almost chopping her fingers off.

"Just confirming," she answered innocently. The boy took hold of her hand that was just hovering there in front of his face. His eyebrows were pulled together. Like he wasn't quite sure what to make of her. Then he snorted, shaking his head. "You're ridiculous," he mumbled softly. His words were far from flattering but his voice sounded so affectionate and sweet that he might as well have told her she was adorable or something along those lines. She didn't think she could ever get used to this side of him. How was she supposed to react to that?

...

DRACO

The girl really was ridiculous. Him? A vampire? Was she completely daft? He had to admit that it was a tiny bit cute, though. Completely ridiculous but endearingly so. He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. It was just a hand. Nothing special. But even so, this small hand holding his filled him with undescribable joy. Because it was Haley's hand. And she was letting him hold it. He closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the overwhelming feelings that were welling up inside him. When he opened them again and saw Haley right there he was hit with the overpowering desire to kiss her. He noticed her eyes widening slightly as he scooted closer to her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to bite you," he muttered, while he tried not to let her reaction discourage him. Haley rolled her eyes at his words. But she was definitely grinning. And then he felt a light pressure on his hand that made his doubts disappear all at once. He grinned back and leant in the last few inches that separated his lips from hers. Getting to finally kiss her again was like gulping down a cold glass of water after not drinking anything for weeks. His hand crawled over her jumper toward her back and pulled her closer to him. Her hand had found its way into his hair and the way she was gently running her fingers through his silky strands made pleasant tingles spread all across his skin, starting from his scalp. There was not an inch between them but still he needed to be closer. Rolling the girl onto her back, he loomed above her. He pulled away for a second, catching his breath. Looking down at Haley's flushed cheeks, her kiss-swollen lips and her sparkling eyes, he suddenly felt like he was suffocating. His heart felt like someone was squeezing it. She was so… lovely? Amazing? Precious? Wonderful? But he couldn't think of a word that would adequately describe her. She was so much more than any words could express. Was this love? He didn't know. He cupped her face in his hand and stroked her cheek tenderly. She leaned into his touch with a soft smile.

"I…" He started to say but he didn't know how to continue. "I… you – I…"

He gulped, taking a deep breath to try and calm his pounding heart. What was he doing? Perhaps he should just keep his mouth shout. Perhaps it was better to wait. But what was he waiting for?

 _Clang_. Draco froze. What was that noise? Haley seemed alarmed as well.

"You heard that, too, right?" She whispered worriedly. Before he could answer she pushed him off her, firmly but not ungently, and got to her feet.

"Wait, where are you-?"

"Stay here," she instructed and ran after the noise in true Gryffindor fashion.

...

HALEY

Hearing a suspicious noise really should have worried Haley. And it did worry her but at the same time she felt relieved for the distraction it provided. She liked kissing Malfoy. As crazy as that sounded she could admit that. And she had already admitted it to herself. But… from the looks of it the boy had been about to tell her something… something that she wasn't ready to deal with yet. So she had been glad at the chance to escape his intense eyes for a moment. It was eerily quiet in the hall that opened toward the observation deck and the moonlight didn't provide much light. Where had the noise come from? She had almost reached the stairs when she spotted something shiny lying in front of one of the windows. Carefully she approached the thing and knelt down in front of it. It was a telescope. Nothing more, nothing less. She sighed in relief. Someone had probably forgotten it on the window sill during one of the Astronomy lessons and the wind had caused it to fall down. Right? That seemed logical enough. From the corner of her eyes she registered a sudden movement. What was-?

Tiny orange velvet paws came into her view then. Haley sighed again. It was just a cat. Light-footedly, it jumped onto the window sill and rubbed its head against the dark stone wall. Maybe the cat had caused the telescope to fall down in the first place. She got up and watched the animal thoughtfully. There was something caught between its teeth. A mouse? No. It was… a toffee? The cat dropped the toffee and meowed at her in a way that seemed almost disappointed. Then it hopped down again and vanished into the darkness. Haley picked up the candy and held it in front of her eyes. It wasn't a brand she had seen before. She shrugged, putting it back on the window sill again. It was just candy.

She turned around and made her way back toward the observation deck. Malfoy was already waiting for her. There was a frown on his face and his arms were crossed in front of his chest.

"It was just a cat," she informed him, her voice a soft whisper.

"A cat?" He echoed.

She nodded.

"It wasn't Filch's cat, was it?"

She shook her head. Malfoy sighed, running his hand across his face. He was probably relieved as well.

"I told you that you're annoyingly reckless before?" He asked tiredly.

"Once or twice," Haley offered with a grin. Malfoy snorted but the corners of his mouth were definitely twitching. She wondered if he was disappointed that the noise had interrupted them earlier. If he was he didn't show it.

"Maybe it's better if we head back. Just in case, you know?" Haley suggested. She hadn't brought her watch but she was sure that it was already close to midnight. Maybe even later.

"Oh," he said, seemingly surprised. "Well, you're probably right." Despite their words neither of them made a move to go.

"Um… so, about Christmas," Malfoy began, shuffling his feet.

"Yes?"

"You know… will… will we see each other before?"

"Of course. We see each other every day, don't we? In class, in the Great Hall, on the grounds..."

Malfoy scowled, squinting his eyes at her. "Don't push it, Potter."

She chuckled. Where was his sense of humour?

"Okay, okay," she relented. "When do you want to meet?"

"I was thinking, the day before the holidays begin."

"That should work. Are you going to give me my present then?"

" _Your present_? What makes you think I would give you a present after the way you were making fun of me?"

"Fine. No presents then." Haley replied with a grin. "That way I don't have to feel bad for not giving you anything either."

"Brilliant," Malfoy grumbled. There was a pout on his face that made Haley think he had not understood the real meaning behind her words after all. But only a second later, he took one step toward her, leaned into her personal space and softly whispered into her ear, "I'm looking forward to it."

When he leaned back there was a real smile on his face. It was beautiful. And for some reason it made her want to do something stupid like kiss him.

"Night Potter," he whispered before leaning in to quickly press his lips against her cheek. The soft touch seemed so innocent and sweet that she only stared at the boy for a second as if she had forgotten he was capable of doing something like this.

The next thing she registered was a heavy cloth being thrown at her. Oh. Her cloak.

"I believe this is yours," Malfoy drawled lazily, his smile turning into an amused smirk. Then he turned around and left the observation deck. He hadn't even thanked her, she realised. Of course he hadn't. Malfoys didn't thank people. She rolled her eyes. On her way back toward Gryffindor tower she wondered what in Merlin's name she was going to get the boy for Christmas. Maybe she could ask Luna if she had an idea.

…

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! I don't know what happened. This was never meant to become this long. I originally wanted to make this a short interlude before delving into Christmas at Grimmauld Place. But then the chapter got longer and longer and turned into this monster of fluff and teasing. Well, that means Sirius will have to wait until next chapter. I have so many good things planned for him (I'm evilly cackling right now). So, what are your thoughts on the cat. Was it an ordinary cat? Let me know what you think!

I'm curious whether anyone recognised the chapter title. "Under Stars" is actually the title of a song by Tom Felton ;) You should give it a listen. It's a lovely song and I think the lyrics also fit the overall mood of the chapter!

Also did anyone read the School for Good and Evil series? It's such an amazing series! If you did, what did you think of it?

As always, thank you for reading! Till next time, Feather :)


	13. A Christmas Revelation

**13 – A Christmas Revelation**

In the end Haley didn't receive a present from Malfoy after all. She didn't even see him again before the start of the holidays. It wasn't too bad because she hadn't come up with an idea for a present in time. But of course the circumstances surrounding her early return to Grimmauld Place didn't provide much reason for cheerfulness. Mr Weasley had been attacked by a snake and was now resting at St. Mungo's. She had visited him along with the other Weasleys and now it looked as though he was going to be discharged in a few more days.

"Ah! So this is how you make a heel!" Hermione exclaimed, triumphantly. Haley turned her head to see what had caused her friend to say something so strange. The other girl was sitting by the fireplace with Mrs Weasley who was apparently giving her knitting tips.

"It's really not that hard once you know how to do it," Mrs Weasley replied warmly. She looked up from her needles and caught Haley watching them.

"Come sit with us, dear. The knitting is really relaxing," the older witch invited her.

"I don't know," she said slowly, "I've never really done this before."

"You should try it, Haley. It's so much fun!" Hermione agreed. Haley looked at the needles that were soaring in mid-air and slowly creating a hat or a sock or –

"Gloves!" She burst out, suddenly hit with an idea. "Can you teach me how to make gloves?" The raven-haired girl asked excitedly.

Mrs Weasley frowned. "A bit difficult for the beginning..." She tilted her head left and right thoughtfully. "But I guess it could work. Have a seat, dear." A kind smile formed on the woman's face as she patted the seat next to her. At once Haley was handed a pair of needles and a ball of bright red wool.

"I'm afraid you'll have to learn the basics without magic first. But once you've got it I'll show you a helpful spell that will make you work faster."

She started knitting simple rows at first then experimented with different patterns and after a while she found that Hermione was right. Knitting was fun. And oddly relaxing. And now she finally had an idea what she could give Malfoy for Christmas. She grinned to herself, thinking of his pale hands that were always so cold.

Before dinner Haley went up to the room she shared with Ginny and Hermione and jotted down a few lines on a piece of paper. She folded it up, scribbled the name _Luna Lovegood_ across the top and gave the letter to Hedwig. She couldn't wait to find out what Luna thought of her idea.

…

As it turned out Haley didn't have to wait long for an answer. The following day just when she was about to go downstairs for dinner Hedwig soared in through the window with a small package attached to her leg.

"Hedwig!" Haley exclaimed, walking over to her owl and stroking her feathers, before loosening the string that kept the package in place. After filling some more treats into the bowl inside Hedwig's cage, she tore open the package in a swift move. There was a brightly coloured card on top that said _Get well soon!._ Haley smiled fondly. Then she found a folded up piece of paper that had her own name on top. She opened it and began to read.

 _Dear Haley,_

 _Thank you for your letter! How is Mr Weasley? Is it true he's been attacked inside the Ministry of Magic?_

 _I think gloves are an excellent idea! I'm sure our friend will like his present! Dad and I went into town today to do some Christmas shopping. We always end up doing that in the last possible second. I found something nice for you, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Hopefully you will like it. And I also went to a wool shop where they had all kinds of wool. I found some really soft wool. From a yeti. It's said to keep the hands extra warm. Maybe you could use it for your present?_

 _I'm already looking forward to seeing all of you again._

 _Merry Christmas!_

 _Luna_

Along with the letter there were a ball of light blue wool and four small boxes inside the package. Haley felt warmth surge up inside her chest. Luna was such a sweet girl. Placing the ball of wool and her letter on top of her bed, she picked up the _Get well soon!_ card and made her way down to the kitchen.

"What took you so long?" Hermione asked, when Haley sat down next to her.

"Hedwig brought a package,"she replied, reaching for a plate with mashed potatoes.

"A package?" She asked. "From whom?"

"Luna," she answered with a shrug. "She also sent this ' _Get well soon!'_ card. Isn't that sweet?"

"Luna did?" Ginny asked, from the seat next to Hermione's. Haley nodded, making to hand over the card to the younger girl. But before she could take it it was intercepted by Ron.

"Hey!" Ginny complained, reaching for the brightly coloured card.

""Dear, Ginny, Ron, George, Fred and everyone else,"" Ron started to read out loud. ""How are you? One of daddy's co-workers saw Mr Weasley at St Mungo's last week. I didn't know he was sick! He told me that one of his arms is injured. I really hope it's not too bad. There is this herb called _armwell_ that I found at Healing Herbs' (That's a lovely little shop near our town!). The shop attendant said if you make tea with it or rub it onto the skin it will heal any injuries located on the arm. It's inside the little pouch attached to the card.""

Ron turned the card over and indeed there was a small violet pouch dangling from the corner of it. "Does she mean this?" He murmured, turning the card around again, before he continued to read. ""Perhaps Mr Weasley could try it? Hopefully he'll get better soon. I'm looking forward to seeing you again after the holidays! Merry Christmas to all of you! Luna."" Ron turned the card over once more and looked at the image. He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Did she draw this herself?" He mumbled, still smiling softly.

That's when Ginny reached across the table and finally snatched the card away from him in order to look at the image. It really was a drawing. A drawing of a man with red hair, sitting in a bed with something that looked like a bandage around his arm. Was this supposed to be Mr Weasley? The expression on the man's face seemed rather glum. But there was something in his hand – a mug? – and after he took a sip from it there suddenly appeared a big smile on his face. And the whole card lit up with colours and glitter. Haley snorted. This was a bit much. But also really sweet. Now she felt bad that she hadn't even thought about getting Luna a present for Christmas. Right. Presents!

"Oh, before I forget," she said. "Luna sent presents, too."

"Presents?" Ron perked up. He was always so eager where presents were concerned. Presents and food. It was really easy to make the boy happy.

"Yes. For me, Ginny, Hermione and you. They're upstairs." she confirmed.

"Awesome," Ron beamed, happily scooping up a spoonful of peas. When Haley turned to Hermione she noticed her friend's brows were furrowed like she was deep in thought. Her gaze was fixed on the card, lying next to Ginny's glass. Then she looked up at her, meeting her eyes. Unspoken questions were swirling behind her brown orbs. But with a shock Haley realised that it was almost too easy to guess what made Hermione this suspicious.

' _Why does Luna send you a package all of a sudden? Why does she send us presents when she barely even knows us? And why has it been your owl, Hedwig, who brought the package?'_

Haley tried to look as clueless as possible. Like she was asking herself the same questions. All the while fearing that her friend looked right through her.

…

Christmas morning was astoundingly similar to the previous Christmases she had experienced at Hogwarts. At some point Ron had burst into the room that Haley shared with Hermione and Ginny without knocking, causing Hermione to throw a pillow at him and hide behind her blankets. Haley carelessly rummaged around her trunk in search for a jumper. After Hermione put on a violet cardigan the boy was allowed back in. Ginny rolled her eyes on her bed in the corner. Usually, they compared their presents in the common room.

"So, what'd you get this year?" Ron asked, plopping down at the end of Haley's bed, barely missing her presents.

"Oh, the usual," Haley answered. "Lots of sweets, books, a brand new Weasley jumper," she laughed, holding up a bottle green jumper with a golden _H_ in the middle. "By the way, thank you for those," she said, pointing at a huge pack of Bertie Bott's Beans.

"No problem," he said, grinning lazily. "Oh, you got one of those, too?" He exclaimed, pointing at the homework planner Hermione had got her. She nodded. "And thanks for that Broom Compass. It's amazing. I can't wait to try it out!" he blabbered on, while he sifted through her mount of presents.

"What's that?" He asked all of a sudden, holding up a tiny doll, made out of clay. It had a blank face and was no bigger than her hand.

"I'm not sure," she replied, thoughtfully, "I go it from Luna. Maybe it's a lucky charm or something? I'll ask her about it once we're back at school."

"Look, there's something written beneath the feet," Ron noticed, turning the doll upside down. And sure enough, in dwarfish letters there were two phrases engraved into each foot.

" _The golem carries a valuable charm.  
_ _Protects its master from terrible harm."_

"How curious. Do you think it's enchanted?" She asked, holding the script close to her eyes.

"Dunno. Never heard of something like this before. Maybe it's just a weird old figure," he replied with a shrug. "You know, I also got something weird from her. Here." He presented something thin and long that reminded her of a fork from the pocket of his pyjama top. "At first I thought it was some kind of fork but… it's got only two prongs. And it doesn't even really look like a fork so…" He shrugged.  
Haley took the fork from his fingers and examined it for a moment. It was made from some kind of metal but apart from that she had no idea what it could be.

"It's a tuning fork," Hermione informed them, she had walked over from her bed and sunk to her knees on the carpet in front of Haley's bed. There was an amused grin on her face.

"A tuning fork?" Ron questioned. "What's that?"

"It's used by musicians. To help them with tuning their instruments. I used to play the clarinet when I was younger. I never used one myself but there was a picture of such a fork in one of my theory books."

Ron looked more than a little confused. "But… I'm not a musician? Why would I need a tuning fork?"

"I guess, that's something for you to think about," Hermione advised, raising an eyebrow and sharing a grin with Haley. "Perhaps she thinks you're out of tune with your environment."

The boy looked back and forth between his two friends, frowning. "I don't get it." He mumbled dejectedly, making Hermione burst into uncontrollable giggles. Haley chuckled as well, wondering whether the present was hinting at his lack of tactfulness. The moment was disrupted by two loud _cracks_ coming from the open door.

"How mean of you to have a laugh without us," Fred remarked in mock-offence. George followed him into the room, both of them wearing mischievous grins.

"Yeah, what's so funny that even our Hermione is in stitches?" George wanted to know.

Fred stopped at Ginny's bed, which was opposite Haley's and looked at something in his sister's hands.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing at the small white thing curiously. All eyes turned to the red-haired girl. "Don't know," she replied. "I found it lying on the ground."

"You sure about that?" Fred asked, snatching the thing from her hands in a quick move. "I bet you got it from one of your admirers." He teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"It's not mine," she insisted, crossing her arms in front of her chest defiantly. She was right. In that moment Fred turned around and showed off the white thing that turned out to be a handkerchief. The handkerchief that she had got from Malfoy with treacle tarts wrapped up in it all those weeks ago. She froze. Her heart beating a mile a minute. How had Ginny found it? Why was it here in the first place? Had it been in her trunk? She didn't remember putting it in there. And even so. How had it ended up on the ground? Had it been earlier, when she had blindly rummaged through her trunk while looking for a jumper to throw on?

"I think I've seen that before." Ron said, interrupting her panicked thoughts. "Isn't that yours, Haley?"

"I..." she bit her lips, not knowing what to say.

"Yours?" Fred asked her with a grin. "Then it's _you_ who's got a secret admirer. Who is it? Is it someone we know?"

All heads were turned to her. Haley's ribcage felt like it was going to burst any second now. They all watched her, curiosity clear in their eyes… Except for one. George. The boy's expression seemed thoughtful, pondering even.

"Is this a letter?" Fred wondered, inspecting the handkerchief carefully. "Could be an… I don't know… and _M_ maybe?" Haley's heart stopped. "What do you think George?" He asked, handing the cloth to his twin brother.

"No way," he said after a moment. "It's clearly a _B_." He guessed. Wait a second. A _B_? He looked up for the fraction of a second and Haley could swear that he winked at her.

"You weren't holding it right," he scolded his brother, elbowing him lightly. "See?"

Before Fred had a chance to reply, Sirius hopped down the stairs, singing "Oh, Christmas Tree" in a surprisingly festive tone. He sauntered past the open door and stuck his head into the room, wishing, "Merry Christmas!" Nobody returned the greeting. That seemed to make Haley's godfather notice the atmosphere inside the room.

"What's going on here?" He asked, walking a few steps into the room. Nobody seemed to have an answer to that. Sirius walked closer to Haley's bed where all of them were gathered, when George tried to hide the handkerchief behind his back. It was too late, though. He had already spotted it. Everyone looked at Haley, silently asking her how to handle the situation.

How was she supposed to know? She wanted nothing more than to just run away from all of this. Would Sirius recognize the embroidery? Would he know who the handkerchief belonged to? She glanced toward George, for no more than a split second. Which was a mistake. Sirius followed her gaze with a frown.

"Oh, this? We were just wondering what kind of letter this could be. It's obviously a _B_ , isn't it?" George babbled, holding the white cloth in front of him now. Sirius peaked at it over George's shoulder. _Damn_ , Haley panicked. _It' s over. It's over._ _I'm_ _done._ _I'm_ _–_

"Yeah, it's a _B_ ," Sirius agreed. The handkerchief was in his hands now.

 _What?_ Haley looked up in surprise.

"It stands for _Black_ , doesn't it?" Hermione realised with wide eyes, from her position on the carpet. Sirius nodded slowly. "So, this is where Haley has it from. This _house,_ " she concluded, content that she solved the mystery.

Haley nodded quickly. She was saved. She had been so scared that it would all come to light like this. Now she felt as light as a feather. She could float away in the next second.

Then Sirius cleared his throat, still looking at the embroidered letter.

"Um, Haley, would you come with me for a moment. I found something in the drawing room I wanted to show you."

There was something in his voice that sent shivers down the girl's spine. What was it he wanted to show her? Or even worse, was there nothing he wanted to show her at all? Had he just said that because he had recognized the letter? Because he knew it was actually an _M_ that stood for _Malfoy_?

"Haley, are you coming?" He asked impatiently. He had already crossed the room and was now waiting by the door. Haley got out of her bed and slipped into her shoes. With every step she took toward him, dread sank deeper into her heart. When she reached the door, Sirius descended the stairs toward the drawing room. She followed him silently, feeling her lower lip start to tremble. What was wrong with her? She entered the drawing room behind her godfather, who closed the door behind her. A couple of feet could be heard stomping down the stairs and for a second Haley thought, they would enter the drawing room as well. But all of them continued on downwards. Probably headed toward the kitchen. How Haley wished she could go down and have breakfast with them as well. She took a deep breath and turned around to face her godfather.

"You know when I last saw this?" Sirius asked, a smile lighting up his voice. Wait. A smile? He really was smiling. Maybe he wasn't suspecting her after all.

"I must have been… around ten, I think? It was before I got my Hogwarts letter anyway. One day in summer, my _dear_ cousins came to visit and… well I never really got along with them. The only one I could stand was Andromeda. Tonks' mother." He added with a nod downwards to the kitchens. "We were both not the typical Blacks… so to speak. So, during that visit – it was for Narcissa's birthday, if I remember correctly. And for some reason Bellatrix and her got into a fight, I think it was because Bella wanted to take Narcissa's cat with her to Hogwarts or something…Honestly, from what I remember these two were constantly fighting about one thing or another."

Sirius paused, staring at the ceiling, as if the memories were playing there like a film. "Anyway, Narcissa was showing off her brand new handmade handkerchief – a birthday present with her initials and ornaments and daffodils everywhere… It was exceptionally beautiful, come to think of it. I only found out later that Andy was the one who made it." He tilted his head to the side like the information surprised him still. "In any case, it was apparent that Bella was jealous of her sister's present. Narcissa had always been the most beautiful out of the three and consequently she had always got everything she wanted." Sirius walked toward the opposite wall, where a painting of a snow white cat with big blue eyes was hanging. Haley wasn't sure if she should follow him.

He continued his story in a distant voice. "Narcissa had brought her cat with her. I don't remember seeing her without the cat until this day… I think it's name… was _Lady_?" He shrugged, taking the painting off the wall. "I don't know what it was that Bellatrix did to _Lady_ but the quiet and peaceful cat suddenly turned into a wild beast, biting and clawing at Narcissa who she had not so much as hissed at before that day. On top of that, the cat also tore apart her handkerchief. And this," he said, turning over the painting and removing the backing paper. There was a beautifully made piece of cloth hiding behind the painting. "This is all that's left of it."

Upon closer inspection Haley saw that the cloth was torn apart beyond recognition and you could only guess what it might have looked like before. Haley didn't know why her godfather was telling her all this. But at least it distracted her from the glum thoughts that had clouded her mind beforehand.

"Tonks' mother made this?" She asked, quietly. The needlework was truly beautiful. From what she could see.

"Yes," Sirius confirmed. "I remember how dejected she was after seeing this. I should have known it then. What a crazy witch Bellatrix was, already as a child. She seemed positively delighted at her sisters' misery. And in the end she even took the cat because Narcissa didn't want it any more. If there is one person who deserves being in Azkaban it's that woman." He concluded, his mind seemingly miles away. Haley took a closer look at the handkerchief with the _B_. The embroidered letter looked different from the rest of the cloth. And there were also a few flowers that seemed like they were a different kind of fabric.

Sirius seemed to notice. "That's right. Those were the only patches big enough to be rescued. She must have kept them and stitched them onto this handkerchief." Her godfather turned to her at last. "Now that you know my story regarding this… I'm really curious how this handkerchief got into _your_ hands. Because I'm pretty sure my dear cousin didn't leave it here. If saving it was _that_ important to her."

Haley's eyes widened. She had almost forgotten that there was another side to this story. She lowered her eyes to the ground, unable to meet his boring gaze.

"I'm sure it's a much funnier story than mine. Why don't we sit down to hear it?" Sirius suggested, walking over to the old, moth-eaten couch in the middle of the room and gestured for her to join him.

Slowly, the girl walked toward the sitting area, frantically debating what to tell her godfather. She heavily sank down into the old, uncomfortable armchair that had definitely seen better days, so she was seated more next to him than opposite him.

"So? How did you get it? Rather unlikely that you stole it from Narcissa herself… so maybe… her son? Did you steal it from him? Did he cry because he lost it?" Sirius asked in a highly amused tone, chuckling like a boy.

Haley still couldn't meet his eyes. She stiffly sat in her chair, silently wishing she was anywhere but here. An excuse. She needed an excuse. But there was nothing in her mind. It was like someone had taken a big eraser and blotted out any sensible thought from her head.

"Haley?" Sirius asked. "You took it from him, didn't you?"

It was easy really. All she had to do was nod her head in confirmation. Or open her mouth and say _yes_. And then invent some wild story that involved humiliating the boy no one would ever approve of.

Haley took a deep breath. There really was no other option. _Say yes_. A voice whispered into her mind. _Yes_. _Just say yes_. All right. She could do that. It was the easiest thing in the world.

 _Yes_.

She had done it. Now, she was save. Now everything was good. Now it was all –

"What? Did you say _no_?" Sirius asked, sounding confused.

What? No! She had said _yes_ , hadn't she? Hadn't she? At least she had wanted to say _yes_. But she could still get out of it. All she had to do was rectify her answer.

"Yes." Her lips formed the word without her consent. Why did she say that? What was happening? Was she possessed? Her heart was racing, reminding her of a frightened little bird. The rest of her was surprisingly calm, like she was somewhere else and someone else was navigating her body.

"What? So… how'd you get it then?" Sirius asked, not understanding what she was saying.

"He gave it to me," the voice that didn't sound like it was her own, replied quietly.

"So you tricked him or…?"

"No," Haley said, finally looking up. She didn't know where her sudden confidence had come from. And as soon as she looked into her godfather's grey, curious eyes she felt like a scared little girl again. It was a bit unsettling how much the colour reminded her of Malfoy's eyes. She had never really noticed that before. But what was she thinking? He would never understand the truth. If she said one more word, she would lose him. The realisation brought tears to her eyes, her fingers were clasped together tightly in her lap, and her chin began to tremble. She had to stop this. Here and now.

Sirius' eyes filled with worry. He jumped to his feet and knelt down in front of her. "What did that bastard do to you? Did he hurt you? I'm going to kill him," he growled. He seemed ready to jump out the window ad hunt the boy down.

Haley shook her head. "No," she whispered. "He didn't h-hurt me."

Her godfather's brows furrowed. "What is it then? You're scaring me, here," he whispered, reaching out his hand and brushing a lone tear from her cheek.

The girl sobbed, looking into his warm grey eyes. There was no suspicion in them. Just worry.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay," he soothed, rubbing his thumb across her cheek, where more tears had started to fall. She didn't know why she was reacting like this. Was whatever she had with Malfoy that important to her? Or was she simply scared of her godfather's reaction? She just wanted him to understand. She didn't want to keep lying about something that seemed like such a big part of her life. Wasn't she a Gryffindor? Where was that bravery she always prided herself for?

"Sirius," she began in a soft tone, not knowing how to continue. "I… to be honest… M-Malfoy a-and I… we..."

He stared at her, questioningly. Haley wondered if his eyes were going to be filled with hatred and disdain within the next seconds. She placed her hand on top of her godfather's and pulled it down into her lap, where she clutched it between her own two hands. His fingers were calloused and warm. The warmth gave her hope.

"The handkerchief… he gave it to me because…" her lower lip was trembling but she had to continue. "Because we… because we've been… I've been kind of… seeing him." The last two words stole out of her mouth like they were something forbidden and shameful. It didn't feel right. She swallowed, waiting anxiously for Sirius' reaction. He stared right at her, looking like he was faced with an exceptionally difficult riddle. The silence stretched longer and longer until Haley thought she was going to burst with anxiety. Then finally the frown on her godfather's face lifted and he chuckled softly, shaking his head.

He got up and ran his hand through Haley's hair playfully. "You almost had me there." He said with a grin. "You _seeing_ a Malfoy. That's the most ridiculous thing I heard in ages." He laughed, pointing his finger at her. "That's a really good one. I almost fell for it."

He didn't believe her. All the worrying and her own godfather thought her biggest secret was no more than a silly joke?

"It's not a joke," she said, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, right. I'm afraid this won't work a second time. Come on, I think what we both need now is a good breakfast." He remarked, walking toward the door.

Haley got up as well, a sudden anger filling her, stirred by the fact that he was treating her like a child. "I said it's not a joke. I'm serious!"

Sirius stopped, turning around to face her. "No, you're not. That's m–"

But she couldn't let him finish the joke. Not this time.

"Sirius, do you honestly believe, I made all of this up? Do you think it was all an act? The tears, the story? And for what? Just so we could have a laugh?"

Doubt appeared on her godfather's face, clearly questioning the whole situation.

"It can't be anything else," he whispered, shaking his head. "It has to be a joke. How could it be true?"

Haley walked over to the man, stopping in front of him with some distance between them.

"Because it _is_ true. Because this is something that I wouldn't joke about," she answered quietly.

"But – how? – No, I don't believe it. You wouldn't be that stupid. You wouldn't..."

Another tear rolled silently down her face. Sirius seemed to follow it with his eyes, until it finally dropped to the carpet, leaving a tiny dark stain. She lifted her hand to touch his arm but he pulled away from her. Was that it? Did he believe it now? She tried to brace herself for the judgement that was bound to come.

"A Malfoy?" He whispered. " _Have you gone mad?_ " He boomed. " _Did you completely lose your mind?_ Did you forget what kind of people the Malfoys are? They're evil, Haley! All they care about is their own personal gain! They're the filthiest, dirtiest bunch of wizards that ever-"

A dull _plop_ from outside the door made Sirius stop his tirade. Alarmed, they both turned toward the door. Sirius opened it but there was nothing to see. Nothing except a flash of pink that looked suspiciously like an extendable ear, which was vanishing beneath the stairs. Haley leaned over the railings and with a sinking feeling she recognized freckled skin, red-hair and a cheeky grin on a boy's face. One of the twins. In the darkness she couldn't make out who of the two it was.

"Guess you caught me," the boy said cheerfully, while he trudged up the stairs toward her and Sirius who snatched the extendable ear right out of his hands. As the red-head walked past them into the drawing room, Haley noticed the little mole next to his left ear. It was George. She didn't know why but for some reason this calmed her somewhat. Which was stupid because even if he tended to be the more sensible of the twins that didn't mean he was going to refrain from telling Ron about her secret. And if Sirius' reaction had been bad she didn't want to imagine what Ron was going to say.

"Oh, did you want to finish your conversation in the hall?" George asked.

Right, they were still standing in the hall. Sirius shot George a calculating look, before re-entering the drawing room. There was nothing for Haley to do but follow. Once the door was closed behind her, Sirius pointed his wand at it and mumbled something under his breath that she couldn't understand.

"Ah, making sure, nobody can overhear this time. That's thoughtful," George commented. Ah. So he had sound-proofed the room.

Sirius crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned to George. "How much did you hear?" He grumbled, his wand still in his hand.

"Oh, not much," the boy answered casually. "Just the bit about… Haley dating a certain Slytherin. So nothing new." He flopped down onto the couch lazily.

"If you tell anyone a word about this-" Sirius growled but Haley interrupted him.

"Nothing new? What do you mean by that? Did you… did you know?" She asked, replaying the events of this morning in her mind. He had been acting so weird with the handkerchief. Like he had been trying to lead his brother onto the wrong track on purpose… But why? It didn't make any sense.

" _You knew_?" Sirius thundered.

"Well, I only found out recently," George told them, while he looked for something in the pockets of his pyjama bottoms. "Where is it? You know, I saw you with him that night on the Astronomy tower. When was it? Three weeks ago?"

Haley froze. He had seen her? With Malfoy? Next to her, she noticed how Sirius face slowly turned red. That was not a good sign.

"You were on the Astronomy tower? At _night_? With a _boy_? With a _Malfoy_?" Her godfather's voice sounded more dangerous with every question he asked.

"Yep. It was definitely her." George confirmed. Haley closed her eyes. He was making everything that much worse.

"It's not what it sounds like! We weren't – we weren't doing anything!" She tried to reason with the angry man but his accusing eyes were burning with a fury that seemed unquenchable.

"You weren't doing anything?" He asked dangerously. "Well, then enlighten me what it is that you were doing at night up at the Astronomy tower _with a boy_."

"Well, we – we talked and..." She answered sheepishly.

"And what?" Sirius repeated, in a suspiciously calm tone.

"Oh, it was rather boring," George commented with a wink at Haley. "All they did was talk and talk until I thought I was going to fall asleep. And oh, right stare at each other in this disgustingly lovesick way."

"I did not stare at him like that!" Haley protested. Now, he was lying as well?

"Sorry, my mistake," George apologized. "That's the way he was looking at _you,_ " he added nonchalantly, his self-satisfied grin made her think of a striped cat she had once seen in a muggle book. Wait. What had he said just now?

"You should have seen it! That Malfoy may be a slimy brat and all that but man, the emotion in his eyes almost made _me_ cry. He looked at her like she – what do they say? – stole the moon?"

" _Hung_ the moon," Sirius corrected, tonelessly. Haley wasn't sure he was even aware he had said that.

"Right! That's the word I was looking for," the boy agreed with a laugh. "Although I think 'stole the moon' would be a much better expression. It was poetical, really, how he looked at her like he was ready to steal the moon and all the stars for her if she only hinted at it. Didn't think he was such a romantic." George concluded thoughtfully.

Had Malfoy really looked at her like that? Haley knew this wasn't the moment to think about that but the way George described it it sounded like Malfoy was madly in love with her. The thought made a familiar fluttery feeling rise up in her stomach. _This is hardly the moment to daydream!_ , she scolded herself internally. But it was too late to stop the soft smile that had stolen onto her face.

George noticed it first, lifting an amused eyebrow. Sirius, who had been watching George contemplatively, seeming uncertain, turned his doubtful gaze to her and for a split second it looked like he was giving this a chance. But when he noticed the smile and the light flush of her cheeks something in his eyes hardened.

"The Malfoys have always been exceptionally good actors. Actually, this can be said about all the pureblood families. Well, most of them. What I mean to say is… There's a reason why the Malfoys are still walking around unpunished even though Lucius Malfoy has been one of Voldemort's most loyal followers. He knows what to say to make people _believe_ him."

Something softened in her godfather's eyes. He placed his hand on top of her shoulder gently. "I know you're at that age where you think nobody gets you and then there's that one person who seems to understand you and you have all these feelings and you think it's going to last forever." He bit his lip. There was something sad and wistful in his eyes. "But Haley, you have to understand these are _dark times_. We're on the verge of a _war_ and… as far as we know this could all be a trick. A trick to find out what our side is planning and to-"

Haley shook her head. "No," she interrupted him. "It's not a trick. He never asked for any information-"

"Not yet!" He ran his hand through his long hair in frustration. "That would be much too obvious! Can't you see that he's using you?"

Haley said nothing. Just silently returned his smouldering gaze. She didn't know whether it was stubbornness that made her react like this. But what else could it be? Why did she suddenly feel this protective of Malfoy? Why did she feel the need to defend him? If nothing else, she knew she didn't like her godfather talking about the boy like this.

"Ugh!" Sirius looked to the ground, silently nodding to himself. "I didn't want to go this far but you leave me no choice. Tell that git you won't see him any more. At once."

"Right. Do you want me to send Hedwig? I'm sure no one's going to be suspicious if I send her to-"

"Fine! Do it once you're back at school!"

"What if I refuse?"

"You'll see when it comes to that!"

"Oh, are you going to disown me?"

"Maybe I will!" With that Sirius rushed past her out the door, slamming it behind him.

As soon as the door was shut, Haley sank to the ground, suddenly bereft of all energy.

"I must say, I pictured this confrontation a bit differently," George commented from the couch. Haley had completely forgotten that the boy was still here. What did it matter now? What did _anything_ matter now?

"He hates me," Haley whispered, her voice reflecting how defeated and hopeless she felt.

"No, he doesn't hate you."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Actually, I'm talking from experience. This was nothing compared to mum's fits of anger."

"But the way he _looked_ at me..."

"He's _worried_ about you. Which is kind of understandable. From _his_ point of view. If mum was able to forgive me for that time Fred and me turned all of Percy's clothes permanently see-through, I think you're good."

"What? You turned them permanently see-through?"

"In our second year," he revealed fondly. "And Percy didn't even notice because the spell only works an hour after you put the clothes on."

Haley chuckled, despite herself. "Even so. That's harmless compared to my situation. It's not like you're fraternizing with an evil Slytherin."

"Gotta say, he's not really my type, no. You can keep him."

She snorted. It was sweet how he was trying to cheer her up. But why was he cheering her up in the first place?

"Don't you agree with him?" She asked quietly. "Don't you think it's foolish of me to give Malfoy a chance?"

There was a long pause. Then a heavy body plopped down next to her.

"Toffee?" The boy asked, offering her a toffee, wrapped in shiny golden paper. It looked familiar somehow. Where had she seen it before? Then it dawned on her. It was the same type of candy, she had found on the Astronomy tower after Malfoy and her had heard the suspicious noise. Now it all made sense. He had really been there with them. But he must have hidden somewhere.

"I'll admit, when I first saw the two of you together that night… I thought you'd lost your marbles. But it's like I said. There was something… in the way he looked at you. He seemed so… human. Nothing like the git we all love to hate. It surprised me so much that I knocked down the stupid telescope. You know which telescope I'm talking about, don't you?"

She nodded. She had found one lying beneath a window. And then there had been a cat… Carrying a toffee in its mouth.

"Wait!" She exclaimed. "You're not an animagus, are you?"

George chuckled. "You never tried the toffee, did you? When you don't have an invisibility cloak you need to find other ways to sneak around."

He hadn't answered her question. But it couldn't be, right? He couldn't have been hiding that for all these years.

"It's harmless, right?" She asked, taking the toffee and rolling it between her fingers thoughtfully.

"Completely. The only side effect is throwing up hairballs," he added with a grimace. Haley lifted an eyebrow and slipped the candy into her pocket.

"So, after I saw the two of you… _snogging_ ," he continued, wiggling his eyebrows and making her blush. "I decided to do my own research. You know, following the guy around, reading his letters and watching him, whenever he thought no one was looking."

Haley didn't know what to feel. Offended, because he had spied on her… her… well, Malfoy? Or grateful because he had gone through all of this to make sure he wasn't messing with her? Or guilty because she actually wanted to know what he had found out?

"So what's the verdict?" She said almost soundlessly.

George grinned at her in an annoyingly smug way. "That eager to know, are we?"

She elbowed him impatiently.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," he said with a chuckle. "So judging from the way your boy keeps stealing glances at you whenever he thinks no one is looking – meaning whenever he doesn't have to pretend for anyone – I'm honestly surprised he hasn't offered his heart to you on a silver plate."

"What?"

"Or has he? Anyway, I think the only thing you should be afraid of is him jumping you and snogging you to death."

Haley blushed even more than before "You're exaggerating," she breathed with a shy smile.

"No, seriously. I _accidentally_ came into possession of one of his notebooks and there were so many hearts with ' _D+ H'_ in it, I wanted to puke."

Haley bit her lips. "Stop it. I know you're making that up," she scolded but the smile on her lips grew even bigger.

"I'm not! Do you want me to show you?" He offered, making to get up.

"No, stay," she said, taking hold of his arm. Suddenly, she needed to know. "You're… You're not going to tell anyone, right?"

"You're hurting my pride," he remarked in mock-offence. "I haven't even told _Fred_."

This was surprising. "Why not?" She asked, curiously.

"Well," he scratched his neck, somewhat sheepish. "It's not like I think he's going to tattle… It's just… it felt like this wasn't my story to tell."

Haley felt a wave of warmth and gratefulness wash over her.

"That's awfully considerate of you," she remarked. "Do you… do you think I should tell the others?" She asked quietly.

"Is 'the others' code for Ron?"

The girl shrugged, looking at her fingers. "Not necessarily."

"Hm," George pondered, tapping his finger against his chin. "Would it be better if he finds out from you or through someone else? I think you know the answer to that." He replied. "Your real question is… how is he going to take it?"

He was right of course. She wouldn't be able to keep her secret forever. One day, she would have no choice but to tell her friends the truth.

"He's going to kill me," she said with a heavy sigh.

"Not if you turn him into a cute little kitten before he gets the chance," the boy replied with a grin that seemed so mischievous, she was afraid that her clothes were actually see-through and she was the only one who hadn't noticed. She looked down at her pyjama bottoms and jumper combo, which seemed as non-transparent as before.

George followed her eyes with an amused grin. He chuckled. "Come on. We'd never use the spell on a girl, jokester's honour," he assured her.

Haley raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Well, except for someone like Umbridge, maybe. Now, that's an idea!"

"Merlin, no! I don't want to see _that_!" She retorted, shuddering at the mental picture.

"Come on. Imagine her _face,_ " he said with a carefree laugh that was so infectious that Haley found herself laughing along with him. Even if it was completely absurd.

After a while, they calmed down and Haley realised that she felt a teensy bit better about her current situation. And it was all thanks to George. It was silent for a moment.

"Thank you, George," she said, earnestly, reaching for his arm and giving it a squeeze.

"I didn't do anything," he replied, shrugging her words off.

"But you did. You're an amazing friend." She complimented him.

That made the boy in question pull his hand away and grip at his chest in shock. "What? A friend? And here I thought you were finally returning my feelings," he gasped, wiping non present tears from his eyes.

Haley laughed. "You're such a goof."

"So, they say," he agreed, grinning cheekily. Then something about his expression changed all of a sudden. "So, tell me. How far did you get with Malfoy?"

"I – w-what?" She spluttered, flustered at the sudden change of topic.

"You know," he pressed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Besides snogging…what did you two get up to?"

"I- we didn't- nothing! - I mean-" She stammered, exhaling audibly. "Why do boys always have to be perverts?"

George shrugged, like he wanted to say he didn't know either.

"You're impossible." She grumbled but there was the hint of a smile on her lips. It felt really good to finally be able to talk to someone about her _thing_ with Malfoy. Almost too good to be true if she was honest. But she would take what she got. What other alternative did she have? She didn't want to keep pondering about the way her godfather had reacted. About the way he had looked at her. Eyes filled with disappointment and anger. It would just make her sad.

And so it didn't cross her mind that Sirius had never returned the extendable ears to George. She also didn't wonder whether a room was still sound-proof when the person who had cast the spell was no longer inside the room. It never occurred to her that George might not be the only person listening to her stories.

…

* * *

A/N: How cool is it, that I managed to finish this in time for Christmas? I planned this of course... (not). So, now Sirius knows. What do you think is going to happen now? Will he tell anyone? Will he accept it? Will he march to Malfoy Manor and kill Draco? I guess you'll find out in the next chapter xD

Also, now you now what it was about the cat from last chapter. I'm sure you didn't expect this.

I was actually really angry with the English language in this chapter. I had this nice wordplay planned with Ron's tuning fork, which was actually meant to be a baton before but I had to change it. See, in German a baton is called a 'Taktstock' ('beat stick' would be the literal translation). And it works so nicely because beat is actually 'Takt' in German. So the beat stick would have hinted at his tactlessness. I don't know if I explained that well but anyway... it would have been such a great wordplay! Damn!

And George is officially my new favourite character. Hehe.

I need to stop talking now. So, I hope all of you are having happy holidays and are using them well to rest and do fun things. I certainly am :) As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

All the best, Feather :)


	14. The Calm After The Storm

**14 – The Calm After The Storm**

The days following that disastrous Christmas morning, Sirius had been suspiciously absent. Haley suspected he was spending all of his time in that little room where Buckbeak was staying but she was too scared to check. Once, Hermione had carefully asked Haley about her godfather but the girl had only shaken her head sadly, not being able to reply. She hadn't been asked about him since.

The days went by sometimes too fast, sometimes too slowly until the day of their return to Hogwarts finally arrived. It was only a couple of hours before they were supposed to leave. Haley had been fighting with herself all day, wondering if she should seek her godfather out or leave him be. Then, just as she was looking under her bed if there was anything she had forgotten to put inside her trunk, there was a soft knock against the open door frame.

"Come in," she called, her head still stuck under the bed. She heard the door close and a pair of feet nearing her bed. Then someone cleared their throat.

Haley freed her head from under the bed and looked up. Right into the eyes of her godfather.

"Sirius…" she breathed, regarding him out of wide surprised eyes. His beard looked like he hadn't shaved in the last couple of days and there were dark circles underneath his eyes.

She jumped to her feet, feeling like a deer that was caught in someone's headlights.

"Um… why don't you…" She mumbled, gesturing toward the bed opposite hers. Her godfather let himself sink onto Ginny's bed, while Haley slowly sat down on her own.

"You're still not done with packing? James, always delayed that until the last possible second as well," he commented fondly.

Haley chuckled nervously. Then it was quiet again.

"Look –" – "I –" They both said at the same time.

"You go first," the girl said, gesturing for her godfather to talk with a sheepish grin.

Sirius sighed, running his hands across his face. "Merlin, this is hard," he mumbled, before letting his arms sink and interlacing his fingers in his lap. "I've been thinking hard about what you told me the other day and… well, let's get to the point, shall we?" He proposed, the hint of a smile ghosting around his bearded mouth. "I hate the thought of you going around with that Malfoy boy and doing who knows what with him. And let me assure you, James would have shared that opinion."

Haley tried not to let any disappointment show. She had expected something like this.

"However," Sirius continued sternly. "As I know from experience, when something is forbidden, people – and _teenagers_ especially – tend to want it even more… which is why…" He stopped there, letting the sentence hang in the air unfinished. Haley's heart beat painfully in her chest. Did that mean what she thought it did?

Sirius exhaled audibly. "I'm not… I'm not going to tell you what to do… or not to do." He added in a resigned tone.

Haley gaped at him speechlessly. "But – but – does that – does that mean you'll let me – you'll let me keep seeing him?" She asked, almost too stunned to believe it.

"Well, I won't stop you if that's what you really want," he grumbled, turning his face to the side. "Wouldn't be a point in that anyway. You're just as stubborn as your mum," he replied with a snort. "She, too, couldn't help looking for something good in even the darkest souls." He muttered, his voice going quieter toward the end. He also mumbled something about 'James' and 'thrill' and 'dating Slytherins' but Haley was occupied with other things.

She couldn't believe it! Was she dreaming? It didn't feel like a dream but… could this really be true? Maybe he didn't approve of her choice of company but at least it seemed like he somewhat accepted it. Which was a start. With a face-splitting grin, she got up from her bed and attacked her godfather, throwing her arms around him.

"You're the best!" She exclaimed happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She could barely stop herself from squealing.

"Not so fast. There are some conditions," Sirius muttered, somewhere above her.

"What conditions?" She asked, wondering where this was going.

Sirius cleared his throat importantly. "First, you contact me at least once a week so I know you're still alive." She rolled her eyes but nodded once. She could do that.

"Second, you can't tell him anything – and I mean not the slightest bit – about the Order, this place or anything else that could be relevant for Death Eaters."

Haley bit her lips. Did he think she was stupid? "I haven't," she emphasized. "I haven't even told him about our DA meetings."

"You haven't?" Sirius seemed surprised.

"No," she confirmed. "I guess… it never came up."

"Well, that's good," he remarked.

"Is there more?"

"Of course," he replied with a chuckle. "Third, if he tries anything funny or hurts you in any way you tell me at once so I can make sure he won't be able to do it a second time." Sirius eyes looked so dark at these words, that Haley shuddered.

"Okay," she agreed with a sigh, silently hoping it wouldn't ever come to this.

"And finally," Sirius said, pushing his goddaughter slightly away so he could look into her eyes. "I want you to think about whether you're really sure about this. About him. You know, as well as I do that his father is a Death Eater. He's a dangerous man and if you ever," he paused, his grey eyes full of urgency, boring into her green ones like he was trying to look into her soul. She swallowed nervously. "If you ever feel only the slightest doubt about him or his intentions, you can't hesitate. You have to end it immediately. Do you understand?"

Haley stared at him, the words silently replaying in her mind. She didn't know if she could do it. Only the slightest doubt? Wasn't it normal to have doubts?

"Haley, do you understand?" Sirius, repeated his question, urgency colouring his voice.

It felt like one of the hardest things she had ever done but after what felt like hours, she nodded.

"Good," Sirius breathed. A heavy sigh, emphasized his relief. "Oh right, before I forget," he said, taking a small box from the pocket of his sweater. "Here."

"What's that?" The girl asked, reaching to open it.

"Open it later," Sirius suggested, stopping her hand with his. "I should probably leave you to pack." He dropped a scratchy kiss to her forehead and got up. Before he could make it to the door, Haley got up and went after him. "Sirius?"

"Hm?" He turned around only to find himself with an armful of Haley. "Oof." He chuckled, catching her before they both tumbled over.

Haley clutched her godfather tightly. She was endlessly relieved he was still talking her and she hadn't lost him after all. She didn't know what she would have done if he had turned his back on her. "I'm so glad I have you," she mumbled against his chest, her voice breaking at the end.

"Me too," he said simply but his voice sounded equally emotional as hers. And the way he held onto her almost seemed like he never wanted to let her go. She hated that she had to leave him here. But eventually they had to say good-bye. And as much as she wished she could stay for a couple of days longer she had no choice but to go back to Hogwarts and leave her godfather behind. All alone. Inside the big, cold house that was filled with painful memories.

…

They were all relieved when they were finally allowed to leave the Knight Bus. Haley didn't understand why that bus was so fascinating to Ron. All it did was make her nauseous and throw its passengers around like billiard balls.

"Blimey, that was a ride!" Ron exclaimed. Haley wasn't sure whether he was being sarcastic or serious. "What? We have to walk? Where are the carriages?"

That was the downside of not arriving together with all the other students. They had to walk all the way from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts in the snow. Hopefully they would still be back in time for dinner.  
The Entrance Hall was packed with students from all houses, chattering around cheerfully like they hadn't seen each other in ages. Which was only slightly exaggerated.

"Man, I'm hungry," Ron complained, trying to get through the mass of students. "Oh, hey Luna!" He greeted, waving at someone.

"Hello," said a dreamy voice, that was soon accompanied by blue eyes in a face framed with long blonde locks. Luna. "Did you all have good holidays?"

"Oh, yes! I mean, well – apart from dad being at the hospital over Christmas… But he's all better now."

"That's great! I already heard from Ginny. Did you try the herbs I sent?" Luna asked.

"Oh..." Ron seemed lost for a moment. "Well... dad was already better before we had the chance to try them… but thank you anyway," he replied with a grin. "Also for the present. What was it? A tuning fork?"

Hermione snorted, sending Haley an amused look.

"Oh, no problem. You're welcome," Luna answered sweetly, which only caused Hermione to chuckle more.

"It's used by musicians, right?" He said, remembering what Hermione had told them.

"Yes, mostly." Luna nodded. They both looked so earnest that Haley couldn't fight her own grin any more. Ron seemed to finally notice the state of his two friends.

"What's wrong with you two?" He asked with a frown. Hermione could only shake her head, while Haley hid her grin behind her hand.

Ron shook his head and turned back to the blonde. "Don't mind them. They're mental," he said dismissively.

"Oh?" Luna said, raising an eyebrow. It oddly reminded Haley of the way Malfoy always raised his blond eyebrows at her. "That's ironic," Luna said quietly in a way that didn't sound amused at all.

"Why's that?" Ron asked, confusedly, then he seemed to notice his mistake. "Oh, you mean because that's what people call _you_."

Haley grimaced. Ron just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

Something clouded over in the Ravenclaw's eyes. She smiled softly, almost pityingly at the boy, before turning to Haley. "When is the next meeting going to be?" She asked, her tone light.

"Oh. We haven't decided yet," she replied, slightly surprised that she was addressed so suddenly.

Luna nodded once. Then she seemed to remember something. "Oh, I almost forgot." She opened her shoulder bag and rummaged through its contents.

"Could you hold this for a moment?" She asked, holding out two thick books for Haley.

"Sure," she agreed and took the books. Hidden behind the books, Luna slipped something else into her fingers. A piece of paper. Haley's eyes widened but Luna wasn't even looking at her and instead kept sifting through her bag.

"Oh, and this," the Ravenclaw said, handing three shrivelled turnips to Ron, before delving into her bag again.

"What's that?" Ron asked, inspecting the turnips curiously.

"They're tingling turnips. We've got plenty of them in our garden at home. You can keep them," she mumbled absently. "Oh, there it is."

Triumphantly, Luna held up a pink quill with glitter all over it. "Could you give this to Ginny? It's hers. I found it in my bag when I was packing this morning. She probably thinks she lost it."

"Sure. No problem," Ron replied, taking the quill from the girl's hands.

"Thank you," the Ravenclaw answered with a cheerful smile. Ron dropped one of the turnips. He didn't even seem to notice.

"You dropped something," Luna informed him politely.

"What?" He looked down. "Oops," he said, picking it up. What the-?

Haley cleared her throat. "Um, your books," she said, handing said books to the blonde girl, while making sure the piece of paper was hidden in her sleeve.

"Thank you," Luna replied, smiling even wider and putting the books back in her bag. Looking around, Haley noticed that a new flood of students was coming out of the Great Hall. This had to mean dinner time was almost over.

"Oh, you should probably hurry if you still want to eat something," Luna advised. She had followed Haley's gaze.

"Right. I'm starving!" Ron declared. "Do you think there's still roast beef?" He asked, his mind completely focused on food now.

Haley rolled her eyes, and turned to Hermione to share a grin with her. But Hermione wasn't looking at her. She was studying Luna.

"Hermione, are you coming?" Haley asked, suddenly afraid her friend had noticed Luna slipping her the note.

"Oh. Yes." She replied absently.

"See you, Luna," Haley said warmly, before turning around and steering her friends in the direction of the Great Hall.

"See you," Luna replied, giving a small wave, while Ron turned back to shout, "Bye, Luna!"

Hermione was quiet. Haley wasn't sure she wanted to know what her friend was thinking about so deeply.

…

 _The willow. 9 o'clock_. The note didn't say more than that. But it was enough. Enough to make tingles of excitement run all over her body. Sneaking out proved to be easier than she had anticipated. Hermione had almost fallen asleep over knitting more of her elf hats and Ron had called it a night shortly after. Fred and George had started to test their products on students again and he had been reluctant to be the one to tell them to stop. Which was how Haley found herself slipping through the Fat Lady's portrait with a bag around her shoulder and two cloaks draped around herself. One kept her warm and the other invisible.

"Midnight stroll?" A voice asked smugly. A familiar voice. Damn. A figure appeared from an alcove to her left and blocked the hallway. She sighed in relief. It was only George. She contemplated, staying quiet and waiting until he left on his own. But somehow she didn't think it would work.

"Let me past, George," she said, removing the hood of her Invisibility Cloak so he could see her face.

"After you told me where you're going this late at night." He grinned at her cheekily.

"Out." She really didn't have the patience for this.

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Fine, I'm meeting Malfoy. Happy now?" She almost growled in exasperation.

"I guess." He chuckled. "But not as happy as you." He winked at her, before stepping to the side. It was weird. But somehow it did make her happy to be able to talk about this. To share her excitement with someone. With a friend.

"Here." George held out his hand. There was a toffee in his palm. It was the same he had offered her last time, when he had comforted her after her talk with Sirius. She still hadn't tried it.

"You should try it sometime. Maybe tonight?" George winked at her again. As she slipped it into her pocket she wondered what the effects of eating it could be. It wasn't anything… dirty, was it? With a blush she pushed it deeper into her pocket.

"You're not going to follow me, are you?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well… your godfather might have asked me to look out for you."

"What? Sirius asked you to spy on me?"

"Hm, that's not how he phrased it but… I guess you could say that."

"Wow. That's… going a bit far, don't you think?" She should have known Sirius wasn't going to let her off that easily. "And you agreed?"

George shrugged. "It worked out, didn't it? He didn't disown you after all."

"So, you're spying on me for my own good, then?" This was ridiculous.

"Yes, basically." He grinned. "And you know, so he won't tell mum about our latest invention for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

Haley snorted. It looked like they were in the same boat. More or less.

"Well, I guess I could make up a convincing story, if you'd rather enjoy your date alone." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Honestly, I could do without watching the two of you snogging beneath the stars-"

"We're not going to – I mean – why must you be such a – ugh!" Haley sputtered, feeling her face heat up.

"I guess, this is my cue to leave." Her strong reaction seemed to amuse him. "Well, then. Have fun." He wished, before playfully ruffling her hair.

"Hey! Stop that."

But George was already walking back in the direction of the common room, before she could do any more than stomp her foot.

As she made her way down the long staircase she felt a warm smile settle on her face. Despite him acting as a spy for her godfather, this was nice. It was how it should be. Her friends teasing her before she went out on a date. Sharing the giddiness and distracting her from feeling too nervous. It seemed so easy. She wished she could have the same with Ron and Hermione one day.

…

DRACO

This time he hadn't forgotten his cloak. Just his hat. And his scarf. And his gloves. But he did remember to bring the present. Would Potter like it? He really hoped she would. He had never been this anxious about giving someone a present before. It was mixing with the anxiousness of finally getting to see her again after so many days. She hadn't been on the train. He had checked. And at dinner he had only gotten a short glimpse of her because the Gryffindor table was so far away from his own. Leaning back against the willow he checked his clock again. Ten past nine. Where was she? Lovegood had said she had received his note. So what was taking her so long?

A soft crunching noise made him look up. Were those footsteps? But there were no footprints in the snow besides his own. _Crunch_. There. He heard it again. He walked around the tree but there was nothing either. Then he heard an amused laugh and felt someone take his time machine from his fingers.

"Potter?" He turned around again, sure that he felt someone's presence. But there was no one. Just a voice whispering in the dark. " _Sugar Tea_."

There was a flash of lightning, a chuckle and then the snow vanished, leaving coloured leaves and September air in its wake.

When he next opened his eyes, she appeared out of nowhere like a phantom or a ghost.

Haley Potter. And she had the nerve to grin. What was that fluttery feeling, bubbling up inside his stomach? Oh, right. The butterflies were making a return.

...

HALEY

She couldn't help it. Seeing Malfoy always awakened the – very mature – urge in her to mess with him. Which was why she had carefully stepped in his footprints in the snow so he wouldn't see that she was coming. Well, it had been funnier in her imagination. Now, they were back in Hogsmeade and an annoyed scowl darkened the Slytherin's face. Haley slid off her Invisibility Cloak.

"You don't look happy to see me." She noted thoughtfully. The boy said nothing. Instead he watched her like he was contemplating whether to hex or hug her.

"Well… if that's how it is, I might as well go," she said, turning around and taking a step away from the willow tree.

"Don't be stupid, Potter," said Malfoy and she knew without turning around that he was rolling his eyes. She grinned. Then there was a hand on her wrist, pulling her back and turning her around.

...

DRACO

Potter was leaning back against the tree now, smirking like she had won something. He didn't know why he was letting her do this to him. He blamed the butterflies. Those treacherous creatures.

"Your fingers are ice cold!" Potter exclaimed, pulling off one of her gloves and grabbing the hand that had been holding onto her wrist. Her fingers were like fire on his skin. His hand was now sandwiched between her hands; one gloved and one bare.

Draco shrugged. "I… might have forgotten to wear gloves."

"You forgot to wear gloves. In winter." Potter stated sceptically.

"Yes." He admitted reluctantly. "It can happen." It usually didn't happen though. He hated being cold. But he had been so eager to meet her that he had barely remembered pulling on his cloak. It wasn't something he planned to tell her.

For some reason Potter grinned. "Well, I guess I know now why they call you the _Ice Prince_."

Seriously? Draco rolled his eyes. "Nobody calls me the _I_ _ce_ _P_ _rince_ ," he replied, furrowing his brows. Had she been talking to Lovegood? Or was there really anyone out there who called him that? He highly doubted it.

...

HALEY

"Besides, it's more likely a reference to the temperature of my heart," Malfoy continued like this was a serious matter worth pondering over. Haley chuckled. "If you say so." _We both know that your heart isn't as cold as you'd like everyone to believe,_ she thought to herself but she bit her lips before the words could slip out. He would probably contradict her anyway.

There was a soft crease between the boy's light eyebrows that told her he was still contemplating the meaning behind the words. It looked kind of cute. Haley felt something warm pool in her stomach that most likely had nothing to do with the autumn sun. The hand she was holding seemed a bit warmer now. But Malfoy's other hand was probably still cold. Why hadn't he warmed his hands in his coat pockets? That would have been sensible. _Boys_ , she thought with a sigh.

"Here," the Gryffindor instructed, while reaching for Malfoy's other hand. "Put them in your pockets." Haley wanted to shove the boy's hand in his coat pockets herself but just as his fingers were vanishing inside the fabric, he took a step back and shook off her fingers.

"What's wrong?" She asked in confusion. Why was he reacting like that?

The boy shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Interesting. Hadn't she heard something crinkle, when his left hand had touched the insides of his pocket? Was he hiding something there?

"Is there something in your pocket?" She asked, watching him calculatingly.

Malfoy shook his head again but there was definitely a hint of pink, dusting his pale cheeks. That told her everything she needed to know. Haley suddenly jumped forward and reached for his pockets. To her dismay, Malfoy stopped her by grabbing her wrists. She glared at him.

"What is it?" She asked again. Could it be something for her? A present maybe?

"It's nothing," the boy whispered, his head turned to the side.

Haley sighed. "Come on, just tell me," she urged softly, looking up at him, her lips slightly pouting. She didn't know what changed – maybe it was the tone of her voice – but Malfoy turned to her, his eyes wide and lips slightly parted. His eyes wandered across her face like he was seeing her only now. She had missed him, she realised. Missed him looking at her like that. Like she was special. Like he never wanted to stop looking at her. The thought made her blush. But even so, she didn't look away. Not even when he closed his eyes and sighed. How odd. The sigh almost sounded like he was surrendering.

...

DRACO

Potter looking up at him with those grass green eyes, framed by delicate lashes and with her pink lips in a pout was his undoing. All this time he had been longing to see her again. The memory of her face slowly fading day by day. Now his mind had gone blank and he didn't understand why he was doing anything but kissing her. He slowly leant down without having decided to do so and didn't even try to fight the irresistible pull of her lips. He felt like a butterfly that was drawn to the sweet nectar of a beautiful spring flower.

He closed his eyes and before his lips connected with hers, he sighed. In anticipation. Or perhaps because giving in to her felt like such a relief. It didn't matter. His fingers wandered down to curl around hers. While he took a step forward, pushing her backwards against the tree, his other hand found her jaw, angling her face just right so he could comfortably reach her lips. Haley snaked one arm around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair and pulling him even closer. His heart ached pleasantly. How much he had missed this. How much he had missed _her_.

...

HALEY

She had known just from the look on his face that he was going to kiss her. It scared her a bit, if she was honest. How much she was learning about this boy. Was he learning about her in the same way? Somehow this kiss reminded her of their first kiss. When it had felt like he was telling her how he felt through kissing her. It was the same now. It felt like he was giving up parts of himself and offering them to her. As she was kissing him and pulling him closer she suddenly became scared. Wasn't it too much? Too soon? He was giving her the power to hurt him. Hurt him badly. How could he trust her with this?

When he pulled away, he gently cupped her face in his hands and rested his forehead against hers. A soft smile was pulling up the corners of his lips. He looked so relaxed and happy.

"I…" He started to say, before stopping himself, seemingly surprised.

"Yes?" Haley asked curiously, she sounded embarrassingly breathless.

The boy shook his head, biting his kiss-red lips. She wanted to kiss him again. But she also wanted to know what he had been about to say. And while they were at it she wanted to know what he was hiding inside his pocket.

"I'll tell you next time," he said with a smirk, as he pushed a dark lock behind her ear. Haley frowned.

...

DRACO

She needed to stop looking at him like this. Or he would never be able to stop himself from kissing her. Which wasn't a bad thing in itself. But it made him feel pathetic and vulnerable. And he didn't like feeling like that. That was also why he had stopped himself from telling her these three little words just now. _I missed you_. Or more accurately: _I missed you so much_. How foolish that would have been. He couldn't admit how deep his feelings went. Not yet.

Instead he leant in to kiss her again, smiling against her lips as he felt her arms come up around his back. Then he heard a crinkling noise… Draco opened his eyes, noticing Haley's hand inside his coat pocket.

"You-" He exclaimed, reaching for her hand. "Give that back!" But the girl was already jumping backwards. She held the small festively wrapped up box up in the air and shot a triumphant grin at him.

"I knew it!" She gloated, while Draco took a step forward so he could reach her. Haley took another step backwards and promptly stumbled over the roots of the willow tree. Her eyes widened comically and while she steadied herself by holding on to a low hanging branch, the box fell into the grass.

Wide green eyes looked up at him guiltily. "Oops," she said, biting her lips sheepishly. It should have annoyed him but her expression was just too endearing.

She quickly knelt down to pick up the box and offered it to him.

Draco sighed. Then he shook his head and slipped his hands into his now empty pockets. "It's yours," he whispered, staring at the ground. He hadn't wanted to give it to her like this.

"You mean… it's for me?"

"Yes." _Of course it's for you_ , he wanted to hiss, as Potter did nothing but stare at the present in disbelief.

"You can open it," he grumbled impatiently. "It's not dangerous or toxic or anything." He didn't mean to be this grouchy but he was so anxious to see whether she liked the present.

Potter snorted. "I didn't think it was," she said while pulling at the silver ribbon. Draco wondered if she was taking more time opening the present on purpose. To drive him mad.

Once the wrapping was completely gone, the girl stared at the small box that was covered in dark red velvet like she didn't know how to open it.

"Just open it," he urged. "There's a clasp on the side." He added, not being able to stop the sarcastic remark.

"I know how to open the stupid box," she replied with an eye-roll. Oops, it seemed like his mood was starting to darken hers, too. He hadn't meant to do that. He bit his lips.

With one swift movement the box was open but Draco found the girl's face much more interesting. Did she like it?

...

HALEY

Inside the case that fit into her open palm was a fairy. Well, not a real fairy but one made of… gold? No, this didn't look like gold. Was it bronze? Or silver? The material seemed to glow in different shades, depending on where the light was coming from. The fairy reminded her of the one she had seen with Malfoy on the night of the Yule Ball all those months ago. She was half the size of Haley's thumb and her delicate wings were spread out as if she was flying.

"It's not much…" Malfoy whispered. She looked up into his grey eyes, that were fixed on the figure in her hand. Was he kidding her? This looked like it had cost a fortune! She couldn't be sure but it might even be custom-made. "But I wanted to get you something… something with meaning."

He met her eyes, biting his lips. "Do you remember?"

"How could I forget," she replied, remembering the events of that night like it had been yesterday. How Michael Corner had crushed her hopes, before Malfoy had stepped into the picture and turned her world upside-down.

The boy smiled, "Do you remember what I said back then?"

"You mean after you found a fairy in my hair?" She chuckled. Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly like finding a fairy in someone's hair was something completely normal.

"I think… I think you apologised. And also," she cleared her throat, mockingly. "You said it was a sign of your… _sincerity."_

"I did," he breathed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"You've always been a bit dramatic, haven't you?" She grinned.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "So?" He seemed a tiny bit offended. Haley bit back a sarcastic remark and instead picked the fairy up from the box. She was dangling from a delicate silver chain that had been hidden before. The fairy twirled around from the movement like she was actually alive and dancing. How beautiful.

"What's that?" She asked, gesturing toward the single word that was engraved into the fairy's back, almost too small to be seen. She couldn't decipher it.

"Oh, that's just..." the boy answered sheepishly. "The signature of the manufacturer."

"Oh." Haley was surprised and possibly a little bit disappointed.

"Well, at first I wanted her to inscribe something but… nothing seemed to fit… So I just left it like that." He concluded thoughtfully. "So..." He added, while looking at her with an expectant expression. "Don't you… want to put it on?"

"Oh! Yes, sure," she replied, handing the necklace along with the velvet box back to the boy. Then she pulled off her coat and carelessly dropped it to the ground. This time zone was much too warm for a winter coat and she would actually be able to put on the necklace like this.

When she held out her hand to take back her present, Malfoy shook his head and took a step closer to her instead. He placed his arms around her neck and fastened the clasp with quick fingers. Haley swore he took a deep breath before stepping back again. The boy's eyes lingered on her collar bone, where the fairy was sitting, for a moment. Then he looked up into her eyes.

"What… do you think?" he asked, sounding unusually shy. Haley's gaze wandered down to the pendant. Then her fingers followed, touching the small figure cautiously.

"I… It's beautiful," she whispered. Why was she whispering?

The boy's lips curled up into a soft smile. "So, you like it?" He asked, not quite hiding his excitement.

Haley bit her lips. "Yes," she breathed, with a small smile of her own.

Malfoy's smile widened, and he sighed in a way that Haley swore was full of relief.

"So…" the boy said again, shuffling his feet on the ground. "Is there perhaps… something in your bag… for me?" He asked, his gaze dropping to where her bag was lying on the ground.

Haley laughed. He made it sound like she was Santa Claus or something.

"I don't remember owning a red robe, you know? And I don't even have a white beard."

The Slytherin rolled his eyes, not even gracing her with an answer. Haley chuckled but sank to the ground, where she sat on her discarded coat and gestured for him to join her. As he sank down beside her, she reached for her bag and fetched a box that was wrapped up in brightly coloured wrapping paper. As she handed the present to the boy next to her, her heart started to beat uncomfortably in her chest. What was making her this nervous all of a sudden?

The wrapping was torn off in no more than a second. Haley couldn't look. It had been a stupid idea. She knew it! Malfoy was lifting off the top now…

...

DRACO

He had to admit he had not expected her to give him biscuits. The box was full of them in all shapes and forms. Some with chocolate or icing in different colours. What a surprise.

"Um… you should try one," the girl suggested, picking up one of the biscuits, that was shaped like a cat with a painted on smiley face and whiskers, and breaking it into two halves. "See, they're not poisoned," she said with a nervous undertone, as she bit into one half of the biscuit, offering him the other.

He took the biscuit and held it in front of his nose, pretending to smell it sceptically. Then he bit off a small piece and chewed it, letting the sweetness fill his taste buds. Was this cinnamon he tasted? He loved cinnamon!

"I don't know how many biscuits we baked during the holidays. Ron's mum probably knows every biscuit recipe there is in the world. But you know, I asked her to show me how to make these. Because I think they taste the best. You see, this one is with cinnamon and these are with vanilla and chocolate and these over here are with cardamom, do you like cardamom?" Haley stopped her rant for a second, looking at him questioningly. This was a bit much to take in. Draco didn't think he had ever heard the girl ramble like that.

"What?" He asked foolishly.

"Cardamom," she repeated. "Do you like it?"

"I…" He shook his head, in an attempt to make sense of the things she had said before. "You mean… you've made them yourself?"

Haley nodded. "Yes."

Draco blinked at the girl, not knowing what to say. She had made biscuits for him. _For_ _him_. And a whole box of them, too. A strange feeling filled him up. But he couldn't put a name to it. He could only stare at her, like he had lost the ability to talk.

Potter bit her lips, frowning slightly. "I knew it was a stupid idea," she mumbled, before reaching for the box and taking it away from him. He wanted to protest but he still hadn't found his voice. Fortunately, the girl only removed something blue from below the biscuits as it seemed, and gave the present back to him, placing the blue thing on top of the biscuits.

Were those… gloves? He saw now, that the material was a light blue, streaked with silver and patterned with little snow flakes.

"I know, it's silly but I just thought your hands are always so cold so… maybe you'll find them useful…" Haley whispered. "You know, I made them with wool that keeps extra warm. Luna helped me pick it out."

The strange feeling from before returned, filling him with an ache that seemed to pull at his insides. Was this real? Had the girl really made gloves for him because she had remembered that he tended to have cold hands?

...

HALEY

Malfoy was awfully quiet. Why didn't he say anything? It would be better if he told her that he didn't like the present. Or perhaps it was because of the colour? Or the shape?

"You don't mind that they're mittens, do you? I only started knitting recently so I couldn't make them with separate fingers…" Haley admitted sheepishly.

The boy still said nothing, he only stared at the mittens like the sight of them saddened him for some reason.

Haley sighed. "I knew it. You hate it." The disappointment was loudly resounding in her ears.

Malfoy looked up, finally meeting her eyes. "Hate it?" He echoed, seemingly having found his voice again.

"The present. All of it. You hate it, don't you? I knew it was silly," she mumbled, trying not to let it affect her too much.

"You're right." His voice seemed to come from far away. "You're being silly."

"Well, I'm sorry if I thought-" She fired back but then she noticed something about his eyes. They weren't red, were they?

"Don't be foolish. I don't hate it," he whispered, almost tonelessly.

"Then why…?" She started to ask.

The boy tried to form words but in the end he only shook his head silently. In the next moment his blond head fell forward and she felt a pair of arms circle around her.

...

DRACO

He couldn't keep looking at Potter. Potter with her honest green eyes, who made him feel like gloves and biscuits were the best Christmas presents one could ever wish for. Never would he have imagined that something so trivial could make him feel this much. Was it because of her? Because she had given them to him? Or was it the fact that she had put so much thought into the present and had actually made it herself? He wasn't really a fan of self-made things. Or so he had thought. Then why did this touch him so deeply? And Potter thought he didn't like, even hated the present! He didn't think he could ever hate something from her. Even if the biscuits tasted awful they would make him happy.

Draco hid his eyes that were starting to tear up against Haley's shoulder. Her familiar flowery scent that reminded him of Hogwarts calmed him somewhat. Wasn't it pathetic that he reacted like this over something that little children received from their grandparents every year? But if he was honest, he couldn't remember anyone putting so much effort into any present he had gotten before. He had always received what he had written on his list, yes, but that only showed that his relatives were able to read. It didn't show that they cared enough to actually wonder what he might like. Or that it was important enough to try and make it themselves.

Draco hadn't known that he could want this girl even more. He was almost drowning in the all-encompassing affection he felt for her. What did anything matter if he had her? He didn't need anything else if he could just hold on to this one girl forever.

...

HALEY

She didn't know how long they sat there like this. At some point she heard Malfoy softly whisper, "No one ever gave me a present like this."

"Like what?" She whispered in return, her hands resting on the boy's back.

"So warm and…" He seemed to look for the right words. "Just warm."

Warm? "How do you know that, you haven't even tried them on."

He clucked his tongue impatiently. "I'm not talking about the mittens. Well, I am but… you know… not like that."

She didn't know how to answer. What exactly did he mean?

He seemed to feel her confusion. "I meant that… the present… it's like you _care_. As if you actually thought about giving me something I would like."

Ah, now it made sense. Did that mean-? "So… you like the present?" She asked cautiously. She hadn't misunderstood, right?

"Of course, I like it," he muttered, somewhere next to her ear. His grip on her had loosened. It didn't seem like he was trying to squeeze all the air out of her any more.

"Really?" She asked happily.

"Yes." He answered. "Although, I do prefer _actual_ gloves." He added teasingly. It wasn't even true. He had always found mittens to be much warmer than gloves. Even if it was true that gloves were more practical.

Haley pushed him away with a glare. "Give them back then," she demanded.

"I don't think I will," the boy replied with a grin, while he quickly put on the mittens. "They're so warm," he added happily.

The girl bit her lips but the smile came through anyway. "I told you. It's special wool that keeps your fingers extra warm." Looking at the boy who seemed so delighted over a pair of knobbly mittens, Haley felt a warm pull in her stomach and a sudden desire to keep seeing that expression on his face. She liked being the one who put it there.

"You know," she said, gazing at the mittens, so he wouldn't notice how much his reaction pleased her. "Ron's mum actually asked who I made them for because they seemed too big for my hands…"

Malfoy looked up. "And…?" His tone seemed somehow cautious, as if he thought, she had told Mrs Weasley about the two of them.

"Well, I said that they were for someone…" She drew out the last syllable for dramatic effect. "Someone whose hands were always cold." She revealed with a wink.

The boy blinked at her. Once. Twice. Then he snorted derisively, averting his eyes.

"You know, what she replied?" Haley didn't even wait for him to answer. "She said that people with cold hands are the kindest, because their hearts are warm."

Malfoy's gaze turned back to her in less than a second, eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. Then he frowned, fixing her with a sceptical look.

"I must be an exception then," he said mockingly.

Haley bit her lips, hiding her amused grin.

"What?" Malfoy scoffed. "No objections?"

She shrugged, leaving her response for him to interpret however he liked.

"What's this anyway?" The blond grumbled moodily.

"Hm?" Haley wasn't looking at him, her gaze focused on the rain that had started to fall instead.

"You didn't make this as well, did you?"

"Huh?" The girl finally turned back toward the Slytherin who was holding a chocolate candy in his hands. No. He was taking a bite off it. She didn't even register that he had taken off the mittens. Slowly, almost in slow motion Haley's eyes fell on the gold wrapping in the boy's other hand. George's toffee. Had it fallen out of her coat pocket?

"No! You can't eat that!" She exclaimed, waving her hands frantically back and forth.

But it was too late. Malfoy was already chewing on the candy.

"Spit that out!" She yelled, anxiously worrying what the toffee might do to him.

Malfoy dropped the remains of the chocolate and met her eyes in alarm. He had already swallowed. For a painfully long moment nothing happened. Then a forest of white blond hairs sprouted on his face and all across his hands. He let out a surprised cry that made her freeze, a cold feeling filling her. He tried to speak but this time he seemed to have lost his voice for real. His fearful grey eyes were one silent scream for help. Haley panicked. _Shit, shit, shit_. What was she supposed to do? She frantically looked for her wand, which had to be somewhere in her coat pocket…

There was a quiet _meow_ coming from behind her. Frowning in confusion she turned around only to see a small white cat sitting where the Slytherin had been before. The cat was glaring at her, fixing its grey confused eyes on her. It seemed like she knew now what kind of effect George's toffee had. She only wished the boy would have told her. Or given her a hint as to how the effect could be reversed. Malfoy, the cat, looked at her accusingly, his tail swinging back and forth like a whip.

"Well, I didn't tell you to eat that!" She burst out at a loss for words.

The cat hissed at her, baring its fangs. Was that Cat for 'You're right. I'm sorry'? She doubted it. She had thought extra lessons with Snape would be something to worry about. Now, the Gryffindor had a much bigger problem.

…

A/N: Hey everyone ! Look at the fluffiness! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm trying my hand at cliffhangers atm, so sorry for that... You might've already guessed but... occlumency lessons are coming up so you can look forward to that. And look at all the subtle hints that are placed in here. Did you pick up on them? Thank you for reading and let me know what you think :)

The chapter title is inspired from "The Calm After The Storm" by the Common Linnets


	15. Exploding Snape

A/N: In case you're curious what happened to Draco, the cat, please read the oneshot I posted called "Hear Me Purr". I didn't include the scene in this chapter because I felt it would disrupt the flow of it. Also, in the later part of the chapter I used some of the original dialogue from the original book's chapter "Occlumency".

* * *

15 – Exploding Snape

DRACO

"I like your gloves," Luna Lovegood commented, as she plopped down in the seat opposite him. Actually, she didn't plop down – everything about the girl reminded him of a bird, so perhaps her movements would be better described with floating.

"They look almost the same as mine," she continued, gesturing at his new gloves that were lying on the library table.

"What are you talking abou-?" Draco started to ask, but he stopped himself when his gaze fell on the pair of blue gloves that the blonde girl was showing to him. They did look similar to his gloves. His new ones that Haley had given to him. That she had _made_ for him. Before turning him into a cat. But he desperately tried not to think about _that_ embarrassing detail.

"Where did you get those?" He asked suspiciously. Had Haley also made gloves for Lovegood?

"I made them," she answered, staring at him with her big blue eyes like she was stating an obvious fact. "They're the same wool as yours. Yeti wool."

"Yeti wool?" He repeated, lifting a brow sceptically.

"Yes. I found it in this little shop near our town. They also had moon sheep wool but that doesn't keep as warm as the yeti wool does."

"I see." He replied, nodding slowly. He knew not to question her by now. "Did you go shopping together?" He asked, trying to picture the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw inside a wool shop. It was a rather strange image.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "The ball of wool was so big, that I sent some to Haley, after she told me that she wanted to make gloves for you."

So, it was the same wool. But Luna had made them for herself. "I didn't know you knew how to knit." He commented, glancing over at her gloves. They were even real gloves. With _fingers_!

Draco gaped. "Yours have fingers!"

Lovegood nodded. "Of course, they have. How else would I use my fingers?"

The boy pouted. Lovegood took one of his gloves – or more correctly mittens – and inspected it closely.

"Do you want to switch?" She asked in her dreamy voice.

He didn't even have to think about that. "No," he replied too quickly, snatching the mitten from her hand and clutching it to his chest. Mittens or not, they were _his_. Haley had made them for _him_. He wasn't going to _switch_ them.

Lovegood seemed to contemplate him. Then she smiled softly. "I understand. They are probably filled with love and affection."

Draco wasn't sure if she was mocking him or being serious. Feeling his face grow hot, he scowled at her. Her grin widened. _Grin_. She was definitely mocking him.

"I was going to let you try one of my _delicious_ Christmas biscuits, but now I've changed my mind," he muttered with a glare. Ha! She probably already regretted her words.

"That's okay. I brought my own biscuits," Lovegood said good-naturedly, reaching for something in her bag and putting it on the table. It was a green and red chequered box the size of a photo frame. After she removed the lid, Draco could see that it was filled with biscuits. Biscuits that looked suspiciously similar to the ones Haley had given to him. What was going on here?

"Did Potter make those for you, too?" Suddenly his presents didn't feel as special to him as they had before. Lovegood had received exactly the same! Well, technically she had made the gloves herself but still…

"No." She shook her head. "Ginny gave them to me."

"Ginny?" He was confused for a moment. Who was Ginny?

"She's Ron Weasley's sister," Lovegood clarified, taking a biscuit from her box. "Do you want to try one?"

It was pathetic, really, how relieved he felt. She had made the mittens _only_ for him. And the biscuits, too.

"No," he whispered, thinking that they would probably not taste as good as Haley's biscuits anyway.

Luna shrugged and bit into her biscuit that was shaped like a gingerbread man. That reminded him…

"I was wondering," he mentioned. "That little doll you gave me… what am I supposed to do with it? Does it do anything special?" The Ravenclaw had given him a little faceless doll that looked almost exactly like a gingerbread man on the day of their return. As a Christmas present. But… Draco wasn't really a fan of dolls. He had thought about throwing it away but he hadn't had the heart to actually do it.

"You mean the golem?" She asked, an excited gleam lighting up her face.

"I don't know, is that what it's called?"

Lovegood nodded. "Yes, they're called golems. Sadly, I don't know a lot about them. I was hoping to find some information on golems in here."

"So, did you find anything?"

"Not yet. The witch who sold them to me said they possessed a very old kind of magic. Magic that provided protection."

"Do I seem like someone who needs protection?" He asked incredulously, feeling offended. He wasn't a little child who needed protection.

Lovegood tapped a biscuit to her chin. "I think…in these times, we need all the protection we can get. It's why I gave one to Haley as well."

He hadn't known that. "You did?"

The girl nodded. "The witch also said, they work best if there's someone you really want to protect." She picked up a biscuit that was shaped like a heart. How cheesy. "You could also use them as a good luck charm. And don't you think it's cute that the two of you have matching charms?"

Draco snorted. What did she take him for? A lovesick fool? He hadn't sunken this low. Yet. Still. It was kind of nice that she had thought of getting him a present at all. He had never had a friend with whom he had exchanged Christmas presents before. Except for Pansy, who was more like a persistent puppy following him around. She didn't really count. So, naturally, he had been unsure what to get her, or whether to get her anything in the first place. Because it would be extremely embarrassing if he gave something to her and she didn't even consider giving him a present in return. So, just in case he had taken a look around the manor and stumbled upon something that looked like he hadn't put too much thought into it but didn't make it seem like he didn't care at all. Good thing, he had remembered to put it into his bag. He reached into the side pocket, fished out a long, brown quill, with white dots and placed it before the Ravenclaw.

"Here," he said, turning back to the book he had been reading, before the girl had come to disturb him.

Luna didn't say anything. Carefully, he peeked up at her, to see her reaction. She was just looking at the quill, like she didn't even imagine that the quill was for _her_.

The boy sighed. "You can have it."

"Me?" She asked almost shocked, her eyes wider than ever.

"Yes." Draco pushed the quill further toward her. "I found it lying around at home. It's an Owner's Quill. If you write your name on something that belongs to you with it, no one else can take your things from you. I don't need it. But I thought you might find it useful." He tried to sound as bored as he could. She didn't need to know that he actually _cared_. If only a little. Also, he wanted to know if the quill really caused people to burn their fingers if they touched her things. He might find that side effect a tad funny.

Luna looked at her new quill like it was a new racing broom. There were practically stars in her eyes. He smiled without noticing it.

"I didn't think you would give me a present." She admitted, in that way of hers that was neither accusing nor disappointed. She seemed honestly surprised.

"That was really thoughtful of you." She said with a smile that lit up her face even more. "Thank you, Draco."

"It's nothi-" Draco started to say with the beginning of a smile, that froze on his face before he could finish. "What did you call me just now?"

"Draco."

"Exactly. Why did you call me that?"

"It's your name, isn't it?" Luna whispered, like she thought he had forgotten his own name. "You can trust me. I'm good with names." She smiled kindly.

Draco shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for this. "Nobody calls me 'Draco'. Except for my family." He frowned. "And Pansy, I guess. But she's _Pansy_."

"Do you dislike your name?"

"No." He replied petulantly.

"Is it because it's me?"

"Yes! I mean no – I mean–" He sighed, closing his eyes to try and make sense of what he was feeling. The problem wasn't Luna calling him Draco. The problem was how easy it seemed to her to call him by his given name. When _she_ had never–

"Everyone else calls me by my last name. Why don't you?" He said quietly.

"You're my friend." She answered without hesitation. "Wouldn't it be weird if I called you by your last name?"

Draco's throat was tightening up. He didn't know how it was possible but Luna Lovegood somehow managed to be incredibly peculiar and innocently sweet at the same time. He felt the strange urge to hug her. Which he suppressed. He wasn't that far gone. Something about her words bothered him though.

"Are you saying that… when someone calls you by your last name… you're not even considered… a friend?" He felt cold seep into his chest.

The girl watched him thoughtfully for a moment. "No… I don't think that's what I'm saying." She replied.

"Then what-?"

"Sometimes people need time to get used to something new. Especially when they have been thinking of it in a different way for a long time." She tilted her head to the side. "I'm sure she'll come to to think of you as 'Draco' eventually."

Draco nodded absently. It did make sense. He sometimes thought of her as Potter, too. But it was becoming less and less.

"Wait. Who are you talking about?" He had never even mentioned a name!

"Haley of course." She replied as if it was obvious. Had she always been this observant?

He cleared his throat. "So, you don't think it's weird that she doesn't call me 'Draco'?" He asked in a disinterested tone. Just to be sure.

"Not really. No. Do you?"

He could just say no and be done with it. But the truth was, he wasn't done with it. Even though the Ravenclaw's explanation made perfect sense there was still a part of him that doubted. That felt like an insecure little boy. He hated feeling like that. He shook his head.

"Sometimes I wonder…" He bit his lips, unable to finish the sentence.

Luna simply waited, giving him the time he needed. She had this unfathomable aura about her that made him think of an old and wise grandmother. But in a positive way. It was as if she was silently inviting him to share his worries with her so he didn't have to carry them around alone any more. Would she understand? Surely she wouldn't judge him? And then it all burst out of him without him being able to stop it.

"I wonder – no, actually I'm sure, that she doesn't care about me as much as I care about her. It's not just about the name. I – I mean, I don't even know what we are really – or what I am to her. Are we dating? Or is it something else? But then, what is it? I mean, there is the kissing, I guess – but what does it mean? She never kisses me first – so, whenever I kiss her does she just go along with it or–" He broke off, sighing deeply. He hadn't meant to say all of this. "It's just… sometimes I wonder, does she even like me?"

Luna frowned. "Do you think she would spend so much time with you if she didn't like you even a little?"

She had a point there. But there was something else. "You know how much of a Gryffindor she is. She likes to do the right thing. Going on quests; saving people. What if it's just… I don't know… What if she's just trying to… _save_ _me_? Because I'm an evil Slytherin and all that." He rolled his eyes. "What if all of this is just some… stupid quest to her?" It was something that Draco usually did not let himself think about. Because it seemed much more plausible than the golden girl being willing to date a Slytherin. Even if he was an incredibly good-looking Slytherin.

"I think," she started, resting her chin against her palm.

"Yes?" He urged, staring at the Ravenclaw with wide hopeful eyes. Surely, she knew. She was a girl after all. A Ravenclaw. She was supposed to give him an answer.

"If you want to be really sure, I think you should simply ask her."

"Okay, that sounds…" He blinked. Had he heard her right? "What?"

"If you want to be really sure, I think you should simply ask her." The girl repeated patiently without batting an eyelash.

"I can't just ask her!" He exclaimed. "Are you daft? I'd make a complete fool out of myself!"

Lovegood shrugged. "I guess, we'll never know then."

Draco tore at his hair with a growl of frustration and let his head sink to the table in defeat. "Why does this have to be so hard?" In a whisper he added, "She's just a girl, for Slytherin's sake."

"Slytherin's _snake_."

" _What_?" He peeked up at the girl in confusion.

"The expression. It's actually 'For Slytherin's _snake'_."

Draco wasn't sure whether she was serious or trying to make him laugh. He decided it was the latter, chuckling softly. "If you say so. Tell me something embarrassing," he demanded. It was only fair after everything he had told her just now. "So, we're even."

"Something embarrassing?"

He nodded, his face leaning on his arms that were folded on top of the table.

The girl seemed to think about that for a moment. Then she said. "I don't think I've ever experienced something like that…" She trailed off. He shot her an incredulous look. Was she for real? He was sure that there were plenty of people who would disagree with her.

"Ah, right!" She said excitedly. "There was this one time when I was in first year when we were supposed to introduce ourselves and tell each other something special. I said that my dad was the chief editor of the best wizard news paper in all of England."

"So?" Was this already her point?

"Well, someone asked whether he was the chief editor of the _Daily Prophet_." She stared at him with wide eyes.

"Um…"

"Can you imagine that? _The Daily Prophet_! Everyone knows that it's used by the Minister to spread lies."

"Right." If he remembered correctly her father was the chief editor of _The Quibbler_. Had he got that right? She had been embarrassed because someone had thought her father was the editor of _The D_ _aily_ _P_ _rophet_ instead of _The_ _Q_ _uibbler_? He chuckled.

"That's so embarrassing, right? I had already forgotten about it." She hid her face in her hands, covering her reddening cheeks. Draco had to stop himself from patting her head. What was wrong with him? When had he turned this soft?

"What were they thinking? For Slytherin's snake!" He exclaimed in mock-anger.

"For Slytherin's snake!" Luna agreed with an amused smile.

Draco laughed. She had managed to cheer him up without him noticing. He briefly wondered how his life would have been different if he had become friends with Luna sooner.

…

HALEY

"Hey Potter!" Called a voice from behind Haley, Hermione and Ron, who were on their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"What does _he_ want?" Ron mumbled in annoyance.

They stopped, letting the boy catch up with them.

"So, is there a meeting tonight?" Zacharias Smith asked expectantly.

"Um, no. Not tonight," Haley replied. He was already the eleventh to ask her that today!

Smith frowned. "But there shouldn't be any club activities tonight. I've checked-"

"Tonight doesn't work," she interrupted him impatiently. "I've got… extra lessons. With Snape." She added sheepishly.

"Extra lessons? With Snape?" He said it so loudly, Haley wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in the corridor heard him. There was a flash of blond hair at the end of the hall. No, actually, two flashes.

The Gryffindor nodded.

"You must really suck at potions. I've never heard of Snape giving extra lessons to _anyone._ " Smith sneered.

"Yeah, well." She replied distractedly. His sneer reminded her of somebody else. But he hadn't really sneered at her like this for a long time now. Well, except for yesterday when she had accidentally turned him into a cat. The memory made her grin. But at the time she hadn't felt like laughing at all. He had made a cute cat but she had had no idea how to turn him back into a human again. Luckily, Malfoy had only eaten a little bit of George's candy, so that his transformation hadn't lasted more than a few minutes. Was she imagining this or was that him down the hall, snickering with one eyebrow raised in a mocking way? Had he heard their conversation? Haley groaned in annoyance. She turned around, continuing to walk in the direction of their class room.

"Hello Haley," stopped her another voice. She knew that voice as well.

"Hi Luna!" she greeted, while spinning around.

"I heard we won't have a meeting tonight," the Ravenclaw stated evenly.

"Um, no, actually–"

"Haley's got extra lessons with Snape," Ron chimed in helpfully.

"I didn't know he offered extra lessons." Luna replied.

"It's like this special–"

"Ron!" Hermione interrupted him. "You're not supposed to-" she stopped herself, glaring at Ron instead.

"Oh right, sorry. I thought she was on the team as well."

"What team?"

"The DA team?"

"There is a DA team?" Luna asked curiously.

"Well, anyway," Haley interrupted, feeling the familiar beginnings of an argument in the air. "There won't be a meeting tonight. We'll let you know once we've decided on the time like always."

"Thank you," The blonde replied earnestly.

"It's fine," Haley shook her head. "Right, we should-"

"What's that?" Ron interrupted her, gesturing toward something that was partly sticking out of Luna's bag.

Haley froze. Something light blue and familiar. There was a pair of light blue gloves. Something that looked just like the gloves she had made for Malfoy.

"These? Oh, they are just gloves," the blonde replied.

"Hm. They look familiar somehow," Ron said, furrowing his brows. "Where'd you get them from?"

"Me." Luna said simply. with a smile that seemed almost proud.

The boy just stared at her in confusion.

"I made them myself," she elaborated. Was she lying?

"Are you sure?" He asked sceptically, before turning to Haley. "Didn't you make gloves like these as well? Didn't she, Hermione?"

With her heart racing madly in her chest, the raven-haired girl watched Hermione's eyes wander toward Luna's bag. How was she going to get out of this one?

"Oh, that's probably because we used the same wool. It's yeti wool." Luna explained. And then Haley noticed that the pattern was actually different from the gloves she had made. It was so subtle that she probably only noticed because she had spent so much time knitting them.

"Yeti wool?" Ron echoed.

"There's no such thing as y _eti_ _wool_." Hermione said arrogantly. Luna narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth to protest. Ron was quicker though.

"But what about Haley's gloves? I haven't seen you wear them." He eyed her questioningly.

Something was going terribly wrong. And Haley had no idea how to stop it. Haley wanted to _scream_. When had this begun escalating so terribly?

"I – they weren't for me," she stammered helplessly.

Ron stepped right in front of her, in his blue eyes she saw something between confusion and annoyance. "Then who were they for?"

"I… I – It's – I can't…" she began unable to finish. Her hands started to tremble. She was done for. She knew it.

"Someone, we know?" He pressed.

Haley bit her lips, staring at the ground silently.

"What's going on, Haley?" He asked, placing a hand on her arm. "There's something you're hiding… What is it?"

She could feel his gaze on her, but she couldn't meet his eyes.

"Are you – is there someone you like?"

He waited. But she couldn't think of anything to say. She wasn't used to this Ron. He wasn't this inquisitive usually. Why couldn't he just let it go?

"What's your problem? We're best friends, or aren't we? Why can't you answer the question?" This was new as well. This intensity. She noticed that something was glinting in his eyes when she finally looked up. His grip on her arm was tightening as well.

"Ron, you're hurting her! It's enough!" Hermione cut in. Haley wondered why it had taken this long for her to say something. Perhaps, there was a part of her that was curious about Haley's answer as well?

The pressure on her arm lessened. But Haley wasn't sure whether it was because of Hermione's words or whether the pale fingers that were curled around his wrist were responsible.

Luna had stepped between the two friends, her face turned to Ron.

"You've been friends for a long time, haven't you?" She asked him.

The boy nodded.

"That means you trust her, or not?" She was carefully removing his hand from Haley's arm.

Another nod.

Haley thought she saw her squeezing Ron's hand briefly.

"Maybe there is a reason why she won't tell you. Maybe she wants to. But she actually can't."

Ron gaped at her, speechlessly. He seemed almost like he was under some spell.

"I'm sure, she trusts you, too. And she'll tell you when she's ready." The Ravenclaw said with a kind smile and let go of his hand.

Ron stared at the girl. Then at his hand in puzzlement like there was something he didn't understand. Haley felt like she was missing something here. Her eyes sought out Hermione's, which were blown wide and glued to Luna as if she was seeing her for the first time. She frowned, her mouth hanging slightly open.

The tension that had grown around them seemed almost tangible.

"Hermione?" Haley asked softly, afraid something was wrong with her friend.

"What?" Hermione replied too loudly, still frowning. Her eyes had wandered to Ron now, who didn't seem to notice the dangerous atmosphere surrounding him.

"Um…" Haley said hesitantly. "Is everything-?" Hermione finally looked at her, stopping Haley from continuing to ask her question. There was something hard in her friend's gaze. As if she had erected a wall between her and everything else. Including Haley.

"We're late for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I don't think you want to give Umbridge another reason to give you detention," she said distantly. It was as if she weren't even talking to her. As if her mind was miles away. She didn't even wait for a response, simply spinning on her heel and marching down the hall to their class room.

"See you later," Haley said to Luna, who was staring at Ron like he was a strange magical creature.

"See you," she breathed in her dreamy way that said everything and nothing at once, before turning around and disappearing down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Come on, Ron," Haley said quietly and pulled at his sleeve.

"What's _her_ problem?" The boy asked, following her. She wasn't exactly sure, who he meant by _her_. But from his grumpy tone she figured it might be Hermione. And although, his tone annoyed her, for once she actually agreed with him. What _was_ her problem? She had an idea. But it seemed impossible. There had to be something else. She had to remember to ask her after class. Or perhaps after dinner. But then she remembered that something else was awaiting her after dinner. Her dreaded extra lessons with Snape. How did the saying with the fire and the frying pan go again?

…

Legilimency. No matter how Snape described it, to Haley this sounded like mind-reading. So, did that mean he was going to teach her how to mind-read? Or hadn't he said something about protecting her mind from outside intruders? Like Voldemort? She really didn't like what he was telling her about her special connection to Voldemort's mind. And even worse, the dark magician was aware of their connection? And was likely trying to use it and make her his little marionette? She shuddered.

"Which brings us back to Occlumency," Snape concluded. Right. Occlumency was the art of protecting one's mind, if she remembered correctly. The potion master took his wand out of the inner pocket of his robes and held it to his forehead. He pulled a silver thread from his temple and let it sink into the Pensieve on the table between them. After repeating the action twice, he picked up the Pensieve and placed it on top of a shelf behind him.

"Stand up and take out your wand," Snape instructed, while getting up himself. Haley took out her wand and got up as well. He would teach her how to protect her mind now, right?

"You may use your wand to attempt to disarm me, or defend yourself in any other way you can think of." Her professor told her. Well, that didn't sound encouraging at all.

"And what are you going to do?" She wanted to know, eyeing his wand suspiciously.

"I am about to attempt to break into your mind." What? he was going to break into her mind? Haley's heart began to race. He was going to read her mind? She hadn't agreed to that! "We are going to see how well you resist. I have been told that you have already shown aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse. You will find that similar powers are needed for this… Brace yourself, now. _Legilimens!_ "

Before Haley could protest or even try to get ready for any kind of defence, Snape had fired the spell on her.

The office was blurring around them and there were all these images flashing in front of her eyes. _Memories_ , Haley realised. _My memories_. She was six years old and enviously watching Dudley ride around on his new bike. Another image showed her at eight, being laughed at by a group of girls from her class because of her lightning scar and her too big second-hand clothes. The next memory included Hermione, Sirius and a horde of dementors closing in on them. Then she saw herself in her dress robes, sitting next to Michael Corner on a bench, before he got up and abandoned her. She waited for a new memory. But for some reason the scene continued, showing Malfoy sitting down on the bench and being a pain in the… Wait. She knew where this memory was going. Was Snape seeing the same images as her? She couldn't let him _see_ this –

She found herself on the ground of the potion master's office. Hesitantly, she looked up at her professor. "Did… did you see everything I saw?" She asked, getting up.

"Flashes of it," he answered curtly, raising his wand. "Well, it wasn't too bad for your first attempt. You managed to stop me eventually, though you wasted time and energy waving your arms around. You must remain focused. Repel me with your brain and you will not need to resort to your wand."

"I'm trying," she muttered, balling her hands to fists. She couldn't let him get this far into her mind again. He had almost seen… _What if_ he had seen it? She had to calm herself. She had to focus. "Clear your mind." Snape said in a distant voice. "Let go of all emotion."

Okay. She could do that. Think of nothing. Nothing. Nothing…

But what if he saw? What if he saw her memories of Malfoy? A cold panic was seeping into her bones –

"You are not doing it right… You will need more discipline than this. Focus, now..."

She tried to concentrate, to calm her breathing, to clear her mind, to –

"Let's go again… on the count of three." No! She wasn't ready! "One – two – three – _Legilimens!_ "

There was a big black dragon in front of her… her mum and dad were waving at her from the other side of a magical mirror… Cedric Diggory was lying on the ground, all the light gone from his eyes… _No_. This was too _painful_. There was a pair of pale hands, wrapping a bandage around her bleeding hand… a boy running after her in the rain and pulling her hood over her hair…

No, no, no. She had to stop this. _How did she stop it_?

The next memory was only hours away. She stood below a willow tree and looked up at Malfoy... he was pushing her back against the tree… kissing her…

"Nooo!" Haley yelled. But it was too late. She was kneeling on the ground again, not daring to look up at the potion master. It was silent. But for no more than a torturous second.

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape asked, his voice a dangerous whisper.

The girl bit her lips, her hammering heart, echoing the panic that had settled inside her chest. Shit, shit, shit. Had he seen everything? Probably. But what was he going to do with the information? Was he going to tell anyone? She closed her eyes, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat.

"I – It's nothing," she said, eyes to the ground. "Just – just a dream I had the other night. A nightmare," she added, with a nervous chuckle.

"Do you think I am foolish enough to believe that? As if I could not discern a dream from a memory." He hissed disdainfully.

"Get up." He ordered coldly.

She tried but her legs wouldn't listen. Her body felt like it was paralysed.

"I said _get up,_ " Snape thundered, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. She absently noticed that his grip was painfully tight. Finally, she got a glimpse of her professor's face that seemed to be a grimace of anger.

"Do you have the _slightest_ _idea_ of what the headmaster is going through in order to protect-"

There was a knock at the door. Both of their faces turned toward the noise in surprise. The door opened, revealing a shock of blond hair.

"Professor, I was wondering if…" The boy trailed off, his eyes slowly wandering from the potion master to Haley. When they rested on Snape's hand, which was still clutching her arm, he took a step into the room, reaching out a hand, before dropping it again. He cleared his throat, looking away.

Haley didn't know whether it was a good thing he was here or whether he actually made everything worse. But she couldn't help but feel relieved at the sight of him. Was it just because she didn't have to deal with Snape alone now?

Turning back to the frozen figures in the middle of the room, Malfoy glanced at Snape's hand once more and raised a questioning eyebrow. The potion master let go of her arm at once, seemingly remembering where they were.

"We will continue with your lesson on Wednesday," Snape said tonelessly. "Go back to your dormitory now. And be assured I will notice if you do not practice."

Haley blinked. He was letting it go? She frowned. Was he going to tell Dumbledore? Hesitantly, she walked toward the door, where Malfoy was still standing. She turned back around, waiting for something to happen. There was a dangerous glint in the man's eyes. Maybe it was better if she just left. She pushed open the door and waited for Malfoy to follow her.

"Not you." Snape said coldly. "I believe you had something to ask me?" Without waiting for a confirmation, he pushed Haley out of the room and closed the door in her face.

…

DRACO

 _What in Merlin's name did I stumble into?_ , Draco asked himself, when his eyes landed on the two people in the centre of the room. His first impulse upon seeing his professor's hand curled around Haley's arm was to rip it away and pull the girl to his side. But he stopped himself in the last moment. The potion master would know right away that something was wrong. To think he had only come here because he had heard of Potter's extra lessons and hadn't been able to keep the curiosity at bay. And now he had walked into this – whatever _this_ was. After one pointed glance at Snape's hand, the professor let go of the Gryffindor and told her to return to her dormitory. When the girl made for the door, Draco wanted to follow her but it seemed like Snape had different plans. Potter had seemed shaken up about something. What had Snape done to her?

Filled with an animalistic rage, the Slytherin turned around to face the head of his house and was promptly met with a cold glare and fingers gripping the collar of his robes. For a split second the man averted his gaze and pointed his wand at the door. Was he sound-proofing the room? Or locking it? How dare he treat him like this?

"Let go!" The boy ordered, jerking out of Snape's grasp. He would not allow the man treating him like some… marauder. With a sneer he reached for the door handle and pushed down the–

"What madness has possessed you!" The man thundered, his dark eyes burning like coals.

"Who do you think you're talking to like that? I'm–" He fired back but–

"Fooling around with _Haley Potter_?" Snape completed his sentence half angry, half mockingly. Draco froze. His eyes widened in shock just for a second. Had the man noticed? He forced out an amused little laugh. Allowed the familiar mask to slip across his features like a second skin.

"Don't make me laugh," he scoffed. "Potter? Seriously? Like I am _that_ desperate." He sounded convincing enough to his own ears. _Please believe it_ , he thought, trying to keep calm, _please_.

"Obviously you are!" The potion master hissed with a dark glare. He was walking back and forth in front of his desk. Draco had never seen him this agitated before. "Playing around like some… foolish child. Carelessly thinking that your parents are going to fix it–"

"I'm not a child! My father will hear–"

"Your father!" Snape interrupted him again, halting in his steps and turning accusing eyes at him. "Does your father know about this?" His lip was curling upwards slightly, almost as if he knew that Lucius Malfoy was the last person on earth Draco wanted to know about Haley.

"There is no _this_." The boy spat disdainfully. How had the professor even got the idea that there was something between him and Potter? The girl hadn't told him, had she? Or worse, he hadn't forced her to tell him by torturing her or something like this? He couldn't think straight. All he knew was he had to protect his secret. He had to protect _Haley_.

"Deny it all you want, Draco." For some reason the man had calmed down somewhat. He walked toward a shelf on the wall to the left. "Do you not think I could make you admit it on your own if I wanted to do so?" The fingers of his right hand were brushing across a flask that was filled with a clear liquid in a way that seemed like a caress. _Veritaserum_ , Draco realized with a start, a cold shudder running down his spine.

"You wouldn't dare," he whispered, thinking aloud. He felt betrayed somehow. He barely stopped himself from saying, _'But you're my favourite teacher!'_ His eyes seemed to be pinned to the little bottle. "It's forbidden."

"And you are going to report me before or after I told your father about your little secret?"

Draco closed his eyes in defeat. There really was no use denying it now. Was it really going to end like this? He felt dizzy all of a sudden. Feverish. He couldn't _breathe_. His legs were shaking. They wouldn't hold him much longer. Before his knees hit the ground, there was something underneath him. A chair. Huh? That hadn't been there a second earlier. He opened his eyes, noticing that Snape had taken a seat opposite him on the other side of his desk, his fingers interlaced on top of the table. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

He raised a mocking eyebrow. "I'm sure we both agree now that you have had your fun toying around with the girl, we can all move on and forget this ever happened." He massaged his forehead, as if he was fighting a migraine.

"That's not true," he retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Pardon?" The man lifted an eyebrow in question, not even looking at him. He was treating him like an unruly teenager.

"I wasn't toying around with her." He lifted his chin defiantly. What did it matter now? He couldn't deny it anyway. He might as well get the story straight. Perhaps he could erase his memory later. How did that spell go again? "I _am_ _not_ toying around with her."

It was silent for a few long minutes. Then slowly Snape removed his gaze from his fingers and met Draco's own. He didn't flinch. Outwardly. The time might as well have stopped. In any case, he was not going to be the one to break the silence first.

"What was that?" The potion master's voice sounded icy, dangerous but there was also a hint of something fragile, like a spider web in winter that was in danger of breaking because of the frost covering it.

"You heard me," the boy stated, much more confidently than he felt.

"Merlin forbid, that you actually _care_ about the girl," the man's face blanched. Which was strange seeing as his normal complexion was already rather pale. "You wouldn't be _this_ _foolish_."

Draco bit his lips and looked away. He couldn't stop the heat rushing into his cheeks. It seemed to be all the confirmation he needed.

"Have you lost your mind?" The man roared, getting to his feet and towering over him. "Perhaps this seems like a thrilling game to you but have you ever considered the consequences? The danger you are putting the two of you in? How could you behave this carelessly?"

"How is any of this my fault?" Draco fired back. "It's not like I – suddenly decided to have feelings for her. It just happened! You can't choose who you fall in love with." He bit his lips. He hadn't meant to say that. But it was the truth, he realised. He was _in love_ with her. Of course it was the truth. How could he not have known it all along? The realisation filled the boy with a feeling of elation that seemed completely out of place considering the situation he was currently in.

The potion master seemed taken aback for some reason. Something flickered in his dark eyes like surprise or… maybe a distant memory?

…

SEVERUS

The sentence reverberated in Severus' mind like an echo. _You can't choose who you fall in love with_. He remembered a different girl with green eyes. Her face was framed by long red hair and she was smiling. Always smiling. Until she wasn't any more. How ironic. Of all the people, he might be the one person who understood best that it was only too easy to be enthralled by these lovely emerald eyes. He witnessed something bloom on the boy's face like the first flowers opening their petals in spring. Had he realised the truth behind his words only now?

If only they weren't living in such harsh times, he thought with resignation.

…

DRACO

Was Draco imagining this or was something softening in the man's gaze? Professor Snape sat down again with a sigh.

"These are hazardous times, Draco. You must be aware of the fact that both of you are in great danger if you keep seeing her. In times of war it is the people most dear to us who become our biggest weakness."

There was something that his professor was implying. Draco knew he would understand the meaning behind his words if he thought about it. But he didn't want to think about it. Somehow he already knew that the true meaning would be devastating.

The potion master folded his hands on the table, eyeing him with something similar to sympathy. "If you want to protect her," he paused. "You need to let her go."

Draco felt like he was falling. He had to hold on to the armrests in order to stay grounded. That's what had been implied. He closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. "No. _no_." He whispered almost to himself. "I can't."

"Do you want her to be used against you? To hurt you? Or the other way around?"

"No! But I-"

"It's better to stop this now than once your feelings grow even-"

"I can't!" He exploded, getting to his feet. The thought alone was almost too hard to bear. "After everything I've done to make her stop hating me!" He breathed heavily, his heart was racing as if he had just run a mile. "She's the only thing I ever truly wanted. I can't give her up."

The head of his house watched him patiently until his breathing was beginning to slow down.

"Sit down," he ordered.

"I don't want to sit-"

"Sit _down_."

There was something in the man's voice that made him sink into his chair without further protests. He crossed his arms over his chest for good measure, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"There might be another way." Professor Snape revealed, leaning back in his own chair.

"What?" The boy burst out in surprise.

"It would not be easy," the man continued. "And you would have to be ready to… turn your back on your family and everything you believe in."

Draco deflated. He shouldn't have hoped for an easy solution. "You mean becoming a spy? Like you?" It wasn't the first time that he wondered where Snape's loyalties were truly lying.

The professor chuckled. "Like me?" Draco felt like he was being mocked.

"Not necessarily a spy," he went on. "You could also consider… changing sides altogether."

There it was again. The choice. The Dark Lord or Dumbledore. His family or Haley. Sometimes it seemed as if the question was tearing him in two.

He shook his head again, willing the thoughts to leave him in peace.

"You do not have to make a decision now," the man said with surprising gentleness. "But you should not wait too long either. And no matter which decision you come to, you need to be careful at all times."

"Does that mean… you're not going to tell anyone?" He shouldn't have asked it. Even if Snape agreed not to tell anyone, how could Draco trust him? The Slytherin's eyes wandered toward the inner pocket of his robes where his wand was hidden.

Snape seemed to be reading his mind before the boy could as much as reach into his pocket.

"You think you can fight me?" He asked in that mocking tone again, his own wand, gently rolling back and forth in his opened palm. He remembered the duelling club in second year and how quickly the potion master had disarmed Lockhart with no more than a flick of his wand. Although, he was most definitely a better wizard than that narcissistic fool, he suspected his chances weren't much better. His wand would likely be gone the second he drew it.

"I was going to obliviate you," he admitted defiantly.

Snape actually laughed at that. Draco wasn't sure he had ever heard him laugh before now.

"At least you're willing to fight." He commented dryly, the moment of amusement gone. "There will be no need for that, though. As the head of your house I am obliged to treat student matters with utmost confidentiality." Draco had never heard of such a rule before. Was he making that up?

"As long as the matter does not get out of hand, of course," he added with a raised eyebrow.

Did that mean he was going to keep his secret? But then, how could he trust him?

"You're asking me to trust you?" He asked sceptically.

"Trust?" The man scoffed. "Has Potter turned you into a Gryffindor already? A Slytherin would never trust anyone besides himself."

"I'm more than just a walking Slytherin cliché."

"Certainly." The corners of the man's mouth turned up in a somewhat amused curl. "Well, be assured that I will not let some outrageous scandal taint the image of my house."

Draco didn't know why but for some reason the man's answer did assure him. Perhaps it was more the soft tone of his voice or the expression on his face that seemed almost fond. Or as fond as he was capable of. The man _was_ a friend of the family… He wouldn't trick him, would he? He guessed, there wasn't much else for him to do but trust that Snape wasn't going to tell anyone. For the moment. Or maybe dig some dirt up on the man so he had something he could use against him. He got the feeling this was his cue to leave.

He got up, but before he turned to leave, he asked one last question. "Professor?"

"What is it?"

"Which side are you really on?"

Professor Snape snorted, his lips curling up into a cryptic smirk. "The winning side, of course." An answer in classic Slytherin fashion.

Draco fought the urge to ask which side he considered as the winning side and nodded his head instead. "I see."

"Go to your dormitory now." The man ordered, his tone leaving no question that he was dismissed.

…

HALEY

 _What are they talking about? What is taking them so long? What is going on in that room?_ Haley was asking herself these questions while walking up and down the corridor outside Snape's office. There was not the slightest sound from the other side of the room. She was just about to start walking down the hall once more, when the door finally opened and an all too familiar boy stepped into the corridor. She wanted to bombard him with all kinds of questions but the dark shadow behind him stopped her. She tried to hide behind a suit of armour but it was too late. Her potion professor had already spotted her.

"I thought I told you to return to your tower at once." Although the man's voice was quiet, it was as cutting as a cold winter breeze. It was clear that he was not in the mood to argue.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. And should I catch the two of you after curfew again, I will personally reduce fifty points from both of your houses." There was a warning in his voice, that seemed to imply something else. Something dangerous. She wanted to know what Malfoy thought about this. But with Snape present, she didn't dare to ask him.

She glanced at him for only the fraction of a second. His face didn't portray anything. But in the split second she looked at him, his lips formed the silent word ' _go'_. She hadn't imagined that, had she? Did that mean it was okay? Had the boy taken care of everything already? There was no way to know for sure. Her heart was hammering so violently in her chest that she couldn't form any coherent thoughts. There was nothing else for her to do here. Snape had made it quite clear that he had no intention of continuing their conversation. At least not tonight.

Haley ignored her pulsing heartbeat and gave a short nod in the man's general direction. Then she spun around and fled down the hallway. All the way up to her tower she wondered, when she had started running away instead of fighting. Maybe it was because she knew. She knew that this was a fight she couldn't win. Or at least she didn't know how she was supposed to win it.

…

* * *

A/N: Wow, another monster chapter! Did you enjoy the extra Luna bits? I hope I got Snape somewhat right. I recently read this brilliant Snape/Lily fanfic and the way he was characterized was simply amazing. Anyway, thank you for reading as always and let me know what you think :)


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